


Withering Hope

by Jadespade



Series: Withering Hope [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Minecraft (Video Game), Minecraft Youtubers, Skydom, Team Crafted, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Multi, Murder Mystery, Suspense, there's also a minor self-insert here but she's not the main focus, this is not a quick read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2018-04-07 07:58:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 59
Words: 310,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4255530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadespade/pseuds/Jadespade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"So which will it be? Which will it be?" the strange-looking Wither said, cackling dementedly. "Your freedom? Or the lives of your dear friends..."</p><p>Seto looked around at the 15 despair-ridden faces, the faces of those he once thought could be trusted, and realized with a jolt: in this prison, every single one of them was capable of murdering another.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. SCENE 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: So... I just realized this would be the perfect prologue for Withering Hope... Pretend like this was always here?)

**INTRODUCTION**

The stale air was damp and musty inside the old, dark room. Mold and grime coated the tiled walls and black rats squeaked as they scurried around the dusty cobblestone floor.

In the middle of the room were eight tables positioned in one long row. Each table had one person lying spread-eagled, chained by their ankles and wrists. They were all unconscious and wearing identical black shirts and purple shorts.

Gradually, they began to wake up from their slumber. "Wh... What..." one man mumbled as his eyes slid open. "Where am I..."

"Why can't I see?" another man asked.

"Where are the lights?!" a woman yelled. "What the hell's going on here?!"

The woman next to her began to struggle against her bonds to no avail. "We're trapped!" she cried out.

Everyone was now panicking, writhing desperately as they screamed for help. For a few minutes, it seemed like they were all alone, but then...

"Oh dear, it looks like the subjects are awake! Right on schedule too... Good job, me! Keep this up and you'll be an excellent show host in no time!" a voice rang out through the darkness. There was a static noise as the loudspeaker began to make a screeching sound. "Hey! Stop that! You stupid PA system!" the unknown person said. The sound of the person tapping their microphone filled the room before the feedback noise stopped. "Ah, that's _much_ better... I really need to get better equipment for my show!"

"Y-You!" one of the men shrieked.

"Ooh, so you recognize my voice? Isn't it lovely?"

"Let us go!" a woman shouted, her haughty tone in her voice failing to conceal the way it trembled with apprehension. "What is the meaning of this- this nonsense?!"

"Well you see, when people want to show their appreciation for another person, they give a token of their friendship, right? So in return for all the hard work you've done, I decided to give you... well... a _parting_ gift in return, pardon the pun..."

Bright lights suddenly flashed on and the eight people shut their eyes tightly before squinting. When their vision fully adjusted, they blinked rapidly and looked up to realize that the ceiling was quite a distance above them. Dangling from the ceiling was a long metal pole which had a large, razor-sharp saw blade attached to the end. They distinctly heard the sound of a button being pressed before the contraption activated and the blade began to spin wildly. For a moment, everyone was too bewildered to speak.

Then the pole started to swing back and forth as it slowly descended from the ceiling towards them, and everything broke into chaos.

"NO!!!" a man shouted, struggling in vain to free himself. "NO! NO! NO!!!"

"LET US GO, PLEASE!!!" a woman cried out.

"We'll do anything! Anything you want! Just don't kill us!" a man wailed.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!" someone else shrieked.

All eight people were screaming and flailing on the tables, and some were actually sobbing in terror and anguish. The iron saw blade, swinging like a pendulum of a ticking grandfather clock, whirred loudly as it spun. Its jagged edges were so sharp, one could almost see the air itself being sliced apart as well...

"Ah, these sounds..." the voice said over the PA system. "These sounds of pure agony... These sounds of utter terror and anguish... I know them well... They're the tragically hopeless sounds of _despair_! It's like a demented choir from hell, isn't it deliciously wonderful? As an aspiring show host, I make a pretty good composer too, don't I? And no, none of your petty bargains will work with me! I am completely satisfied with this! My very first execution... I spent so long planning this out, I'm so glad to finally see it happening! My dream is coming true!"

The saw blade drew closer and closer to the group by the second, still cutting through the air.

"P-Please..." someone begged. "Don't do this..."

"Oh don't worry, it'll all be over soon! Maybe you won't feel the pain as the blade slices through your flesh and bone, ripping out your internal organs and completely disemboweling you in one instant! Or maybe you'll feel it for only one second before death claims you? I don't know, but we'll find out pretty soon! Isn't that the beauty of scientific experiments? If you don't know something, just test it yourself and you'll know the answer in no time!"

The saw blade was now swaying to and fro just a couple yards above them. The people had all quieted down and were now just whimpering in fear and apprehension.

"Well? How does it feel?" the voice continued, their voice suddenly dropping to a low, menacing whisper. "How does it feel? Huh?! HOW DOES IT FEEL?! HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE EVERYTHING OUT OF YOUR CONTROL???!!! DOES IT FEEL NICE???!!! WELL I BET IT FUCKING DOESN'T!!!" The voice cleared their throat. "Ah, pardon my language... I got a little heated just there! My dearest apologies for my rudeness, I shouldn't have gotten carried away like that! An aspiring show host like me must learn to keep their language in check for the audience!"

The saw blade descended at an even faster pace than before. The tension and anxiety in the air was palpable.

"Come on now, any last words? No? Aw man, this execution is going to be so boring... But I'm not that upset. After all, you eight are only the beginning, and it's not like anyone's going to know what's happened to you, let alone miss you! Soon... Soon I'll have lots more people under my control... I can see it so clearly now... The entire world plunging into despair because of me... Ah, my mind's going numb at the thought! It's quite unfortunate how you're not going to be alive to watch it though, but I'm going to be the most excellent show host! I've already chosen the 16 lucky people who're going to participate! So you see, I'm going to have lots and lots of despairing entertainment without you guys!"

The yards had now dwindled down to feet as the saw blade closed in for the kill.

"Hmm, maybe this calls for a song! What song would you guys like to hear before you die? Actually, I've got the perfect one for you! I changed the lyrics to fit the mood!" The voice suddenly started to sing raucously. _"So we back in the mine, got a saw blade_ _swingin'_ _from side to side! Side, side to side! This task a grueling one, hope to cause some despair tonight, -night, -night! Despair tonight! Heads up! You hear a sound, turn around and look up! Total shock fills your body! Oh no it's me, your friend, now you'll never forget this slice, slice, slice! Slice, slice, slice!"_ The voice giggled breathlessly. "Oh, this is why I never became a singer. But hey, I thought the lyrics matched quite well, don't you think?! Plus, the song _is_ titled 'Revenge'..."

The blade now mere inches above them, the people were actually sucking in their breaths. All of their eyes were bulging with horror, their mouths hanging open as they gasped for air. Their hearts pounded furiously as they squirmed desperately in their final moments...

"Welp! Guess this is it now! Have fun burning in hell! _Upupupu!!!_ "

The saw blade made one final deadly arc through the air. The voice cackled gleefully as agonized screams ripped through the air, cutting off right before crimson blood splattered the walls and the floor.

The saw blade, whirring as it sent specks of blood flying through the air, stopped spinning. The pendulum slowed down gradually before finally swinging to a halt.

"Whooo!!! That was so thrilling! First execution went off without a hitch!" the voice cheered before bursting into peals of unhinged, deranged laughter. Then the voice paused and let out a sigh of pleasure, still giggling breathlessly.

**"I guess... I guess this can be a little introduction before we start the _real_ show..."**


	2. Once Upon a Midnight Dreary

**(A/N: I could not get rid of this plot bunny, so here you go. This is really just for fun, though.)**

**PROLOGUE: SEASON PREMIERE**

Seto banged his right fist desperately against the door, his other hand covering his nose and mouth in order to block out the toxic gas that was now spreading throughout the room. Still, the sweet-smelling gas made its way into his lungs, making Seto cough erratically. His overwhelming panic didn't help matters, only speeding up the process as his heart pumped furiously in his chest.

_Why don't any of my spells work?_

Gradually, Seto's struggles to break down the door grew weaker as he lost control over his muscles. His legs quivered like jelly before giving way. He sank to the floor, terror flooding his wide brown eyes. "H-h-h-e-e-l-p... m-e-e-e..." he stuttered, his mind a whirlwind of confusion and dizziness. He couldn't breathe anymore. Oh god, he didn't want to die! Not like this, not right now! He could already feel his mind going blank...

Seto laid his head against the floor and closed his eyes, succumbing to the shrouds of darkness.

* * *

_Hey... Hey Seto... You alright?_

Seto's eyelids twitched. That voice... It sounded familiar...

_I think he's waking up._

Another familiar voice. This one was female. Seto's sluggish mind slowly registered the fact that someone shaking his shoulder.

"Ugh..." Seto mumbled.

_You're almost there... Come on Seto, you can do it... Just open your eyes..._ The first voice said.

"SETO, WAKE UP!"

Seto's eyes shot open in surprise and he yelled in indignation. His heartbeat soared and his eyes darted back and forth, staring at a bunch of people peering down at him. But these weren't just any random people...

"It worked!" the guy who'd shouted directly in his ear said happily. "He's awake!"

"Sky?" Seto asked, confused.

The curly-haired guy smiled. "Well hello to you too, Sleeping Beauty. Did you have a nice nap?"

Seto quickly scanned the faces. There was Sky, who was still grabbing his shoulder. There was Mitch and Jerome, who he hadn't seen in several months, since they had gone on some Victory Tour. There was Steven, who was also with Bart the Enderman and Dave the zombie. There was Deceptibonk, a humanoid orchid mantis, who was clutching her sketchbook tightly. Finally, there was Bodil, who had his trademark mischievous smile on his face.

Seto sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What... What are you all doing here...?"

"Don't you remember?" Sky asked, suddenly worried.

"His mind's probably a little fuzzy right now," Bonks replied. "I know I was when I woke up. Hey Seto, are you feeling okay?"

"Y-Yeah Bonks, I'm fine, I'm just... trying to remember how I got here..." Seto rubbed his temples, concentrating intensely.

"Reality TV show. Does that ring a bell?" Mitch said.

_Reality TV show. Reality TV show. Reality... TV... Show..._

"Didn't you get a letter a week ago?" Steven asked. "Maybe it's in one of your pockets. I left mine at home."

"I lost mine," Sky said sheepishly.

Seto reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it with trembling fingers and scanned the contents. _"Dear Seto:"_ he read aloud, _"You have been selected, along with 14 others, to participate in an upcoming reality TV show titled 'Super Duper Minecrafters.'"_

"I personally think that name's kind of weird," Bodil said, laughing his strange, distinctive laugh. "I mean, it sounds like those superhero cartoons I used to watch as kids... Go Go Super Duper Minecrafters!"

Seto continued reading. _"Furthermore, a lottery on our website will choose one random fan who enters said lottery to be a part of the show as well. The show will depict all of your interactions for 20 days, and you will be given various activities. We expect that this show will garner numerous viewers due to the popularity of you and our other contestants. Please meet us at Diamond Broadcasting Station on Sunday, March 15, at 12:30 pm so that we can discuss your salary and other concerns you may have. Our address can be found on the envelope._

_"Finally, you have been given the title of 'Super Duper Minecrafter Level Sorcerer' due to your well-known talent."_

"Super Duper Minecrafter Level Sorcerer? That sounds way cooler than mine, I got Super Duper Minecrafter Level Squid Slayer," Sky said, slightly annoyed.

"Oh geez, I wonder why you got that?" Jerome asked sarcastically. They all burst out laughing, easing the tension slightly. "And I got the Super Duper- you know what, I'm just going to shorten it- SDML Axe Wielder, by the way."

"I got SDML Hunger Games Champion," Mitch said. Jerome gave him an exaggeratedly jealous expression. "What, it's not my fault you never win the Hunger Games!"

"I'm the SDML Artist," Bonks said. "I don't really understand, my art isn't even that good..."

"Yeah, having bad art explains why you get commissioned by so many people," Bodil said. Bonks flushed in embarrassment. "And I'm supposed to be the SDML... Tra... Trace... _Traceur_?"

"I think that's French!" Mitch said in surprise.

"Yeah, I had to look it up, but it apparently it just means someone who does parkour. At first I thought it was some fancy word for 'troll.'"

"And I'm the SDML Mob Observer," Steven said, standing between Bart and Dave. "I guess they watch our 'Mob Encounters' show."

Seto went back to reading the letter. _"We await your response. Your host, Henri Rennet."_ Seto lowered the paper, thinking deeply. "I went to the building, but no one seemed to be there. I opened the door and went into the main hall, but the lights were all turned off. And then all of a sudden I smelled something weird and I realized that I was being gassed, so I tried opening the door, but it was locked... The next thing I knew, I woke up here..."

"Same for all of us," Sky said. The others nodded affirmatively.

"So if there's supposed to be 15 of us... As well as that randomly selected fan..."

"Oh, the rest are all exploring the building," Mitch said, gesturing to the door behind him. "We just wanted to wait for you to wake up."

"We should probably head over there." Jerome said,

Seto stood up, his legs trembling a little as he struggled to keep his footing. Sky grabbed his arm to support him. "Thanks," Seto mumbled as he walked forward, following them into the main hall.

* * *

The first thing they saw was everyone else crouching behind what seemed to be a receptionist table. The second thing they saw was Husky leaping back over the barrier, a redstone torch in his grasp. "TAKE COVER!" the humanoid mudkip yelled. Everyone behind the barrier covered their ears and shut their eyes tightly.

Seto was confused. "What's going on-"

-BANG!-

The ground shook violently, sending everyone crashing to the floor. Husky peered over the barrier. "Still nothing..." he muttered in disappointment. "And that was my strongest TNT too..."

"What the hell are you guys doing?!" Sky asked, scrambling to his feet.

"We're trying to blow that up, but nothing's working," Husky replied, pointing at a giant steel bulkhead on the other side of the main hall. "It seems to be our only way out." Seto glanced at the ceiling, where security cameras hung on both sides of the bulkhead. Machineguns were attached to the cameras. Furthermore, the windows were all covered with steel plates.

It all looked like something from a spy headquarters or a military base, and certainly not something from a broadcasting station.

"It looks like there's a three-character password to open it," someone with a red shirt and blue overalls said. Seto realized that it was Seth, an expert with utilizing redstone. "But of course, none of us know the password..."

Seto looked at the rest of the people, who were all getting to their feet. Once again, he recognized everyone. There was Tyler, whose red-and-gray checkered hoodie made him instantly identifiable. There was Jordan, who was helping Ryan stand up. Ashley and Annie were chatting, but their tones seemed very anxious. Finally, there was Jason, who noticed Seto and said, "Hey, you're finally awake!"

Seto grinned despite the growing apprehension that was starting tooverwhelm him. "Yeah... I'm still kind of tired though..."

Tyler suddenly walked over to them and stopped. "Crap, I was going to tell you something but I just forgot..." he muttered. Then he snapped his fingers. "Oh, right! I was wondering if you could use your magic to help us escape! You know, blast open that bulkhead, something like that..."

Murmurs of assent broke out. "That's a great idea!" Jordan said, hope filling his eyes.

"If anyone can break down that door, it's Seto," Husky noted.

"What?" Seto exclaimed, embarrassed.

"I bet Seto's title is 'Super Duper Minecrafter Level Sorcerer' or something like that..." Ryan said, grinning.

"How did you know?" Seto asked.

"...It's kind of obvious..."

"Stop wasting time!" Annie shouted, clearly agitated. "Just blow up that door and get us out of here before something bad happens!"

"Okay, I'll try something..." Seto said, making his way over to the bulkhead. He inhaled and exhaled before raising his hands. A purple ball of energy formed between his palms, glowing brightly. He concentrated intensely as the ball grew, crackling. With all his strength, he hurled the ball of energy at the bulkhead. There was a loud -KABOOM- and Seto once again fell backwards from the force of the blow. Seto looked up to see a green enchantment ripple over the still-intact bulkhead.

A stunned silence hung in the air as everyone processed what had just happened. "It- It didn't even make a dent?!" Ashley exclaimed in horror.

Seto's eyes were wide open as he realized the full extent of their predicament. "It... It has an extremely powerful protection spell..."

"Can't you undo it or something?!" Husky asked desperately.

Seto shook his head, his tone hysterical. "Only the caster of the spell can undo that!"

"Then what do we do?!" Seth cried out.

There was no answer.

"Are you sure this is the only way out?" Steven asked.

"Yes! We checked everywhere!" Annie yelled. "All of the windows are blocked, the door leading out to the hallway won't open, and there's this bulkhead!"

"Can Bart teleport out of here?!" Mitch demanded.

Bart shook his head. "He has to see where he teleports," Steven explained, "a-and all the windows are blocked!"

The anxiety continued to spread like the poisonous gas that had knocked them all out before. "M-Maybe this is all just one big scary prank..." Bodil said, his voice unusually shaky. "But even I don't make pranks that last this long..."

"Maybe this is all just one bad nightmare..." Sky said, laughing nervously, "...and I'll wake up next to Alesa like I always do..."

"What if we're being held hostage for something?!" Jason yelled, filled with a terrible idea.

"H-Hostage?!" Ryan shrieked.

"Or- or what if they're going to threaten us for money?!" Tyler shouted, terrified.

"I don't even have money to spare!" Ashley yelled, her brown eyes wide with fear.

Seto opened his mouth, about to say something that would alleviate the growing panic, but someone beat him to it.

_"Can- Can we all just calm down?"_

Everyone stopped once they heard the unfamiliar voice. They looked around wildly before they finally noticed the teenage girl who was standing in the far corner. She had a white flower in her curly black hair, which was tied in a ponytail, and was wearing a light-blue summer dress. She began to nervously press herself into the dark corner due to all of their stares. "Um, I'm pretty sure that panicking like this will only make things worse..."

"Who are you?" Jordan asked, echoing what they were all thinking.

"Um, you can call me Jade..." she said, fidgeting with her fingers as she struggled to keep eye contact.

Something dawned in Seto's mind. "Are you the fan who was chosen in the lottery?"

Jade nodded shyly. "Yeah..."

"How come you didn't say anything before?" Annie asked. "Were you in here this whole time?"

"Well, after I passed out from the gas, I woke up because of Husky's TNT explosion. I was just sitting here in the corner. I thought it'd be kind of awkward to just make a random appearance in front of everyone, so I just sat here..."

"I'm just wondering how we didn't notice you before," Tyler muttered, laughing slightly. Everyone released a long breath, a breath none of them realized they had been holding. And with that, the tension loosened, at least for the moment.

Jade walked out of the corner, grinning nervously, but seemed less scared than before. "Do we need to introduce ourselves?" Husky asked jokingly. "Or do you already know who we are?"

Jade looked really embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm a really big fan of all of you guys. It's pretty overwhelming. But I kind of want to know what titles they gave you..."

"Well, I'm the Super Duper Minecrafter Level TNT Tester," Husky said.

Everyone else jumped on the chance to take their minds off their situation. Seth spoke up next. "I'm the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Redstone Mechanic," he said.

"I'm the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Drama Actor," Tyler said, adjusting his glasses. "Pretty ironic that they wanted me to be in a reality TV show, don't you think?"

"I got the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Songwriter," Jordan said. "I feel like Igor should be here too, I mean he's the one who actually sings the songs, you know?"

Ryan went next. He was wearing a shirt with a bat symbol on it. "I'm the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Warden. I guess the Cops N' Robbers game show made me pretty famous, if I've actually got a large fanbase..."

"I'm the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Electronic Musician," Jason said, smiling. He was wearing a blue T-shirt with a white star on it.

"I'm the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Survivalist," Ashley said, adjusting the clip-on red bows on the two sides of her head. She then pointed at Annie. "Oh, and Annie's the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Archer."

Annie elbowed Ashley indignantly. "Hey, did you just steal my introduction?!" Ashley grinned cheekily.

Seto and the people who had woken him up all told Jade their titles as well. "So," Sky said, "did _you_ get a title?"

"Apparently I'm supposed to be the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Lucky Fan," Jade said, laughing slightly. "It makes me sound like I'm a crazy fangirl or something. But then again, I probably am. You know, I never expected I'd actually win the lottery. When I got the letter, I thought I was dreaming at first! Haha, so many people in the fandom were jealous..."

"Do you draw fanart?" Bonks asked.

"Oh I wish, but my art is horrible. But I _do_ write fanfics of you guys..." Jade's eyes widened and her face suddenly went red. "I- I didn't mean to say that-"

"I think we should just call you the SDML Fanfic Author then," Mitch said teasingly.

"Or maybe the SDML Smutfic Author?" Jerome offered.

Jade's face paled. "Oh dear god no! I don't write that kind of stuff! SDML Fanfic Author is fine!"

Everyone burst out laughing. For the moment, they had allowed themselves to forget their troubles, to push aside their worries. But their happiness was short-lived...

A screen monitor on the wall fizzled as a vague silhouette formed on the screen. "Um, hello? Mic check! Mic check! Can you hear us?"

A shudder of discomfort and horror coursed through Seto's body once he heard the voice. It sounded so gleeful and malicious at the same time. It was a combination that didn't sound right at all...

"Well, if you _are_ listening, then please head over to the conference room! We have unlocked the door that leads to the hallway! Don't take too long, we're just _dying_ to see you all!"

After a few seconds of cackling, the voice stopped and the screen went blank. No one knew what to say. "What the...?" Seto asked, bewildered. "What was that?"

"Do you think it's that Henri Rennet guy?" Sky wondered.

"Well if it is, he'd _better_ have a good explanation for why we got gassed and why we can't get out of this building..." Tyler grumbled.

"L-Like I said-! It's just all one big prank!" Bodil exclaimed, attempting to assure himself.

"I'm pretty sure this kind of stuff isn't legal, even if it _is_ just a prank..." Bonks said hesitantly.

Seth sighed, adjusting the red cap on his head. "Well whatever is happening, we should head over to the conference room like the person said..."

One by one, all of the people began filing out of the main hall through the door that had been unlocked. Only Seto remained behind. Jade started to follow the other SDMLs, but stopped and turned around. "Aren't you coming?"

"Y-Yeah... It's just..."

"Just what?"

"...Nothing." Seto ran to catch up with the group, Jade trailing behind him. But Seto just couldn't shake off the inexplicable feeling of dread that had sunk its way into his stomach: a cold, heavy fog that chilled him to the bone. Seto looked around and noticed that everybody else had the same foreboding and uneasy expression. His heart began to beat in a staccato rhythm against the restrictive cage of his ribs, like a bird that was flapping its wings desperately, but unable to escape...

As the group walked onwards to their fate, Seto had the feeling that the 16 of them were all in terrible, unavoidable danger.

**(A/N: It's so awkward writing a self-insert omfg how do people do this)**


	3. Distrust

The 16 people slowly entered the conference room, instinctively sticking as close to each other as possible (excluding Jade, who kept a distance of at least five feet away from them out of awkwardness).

"I think I'll keep the door open," Jade said hesitantly, "just in case something happens..."

"Good idea," Jordan replied. "There's no telling what might happen to us in there."

Seto realized that the conference room was completely empty except for a bunch of dispensers and soul sand lined up against a wall. There was also a projector screen on the back wall. There were no tables or chairs, as one would expect to find in a conference room, and there was complete silence.

"Where is everyone?" Sky asked.

As if on cue, a piston in the wall pushed forward a brown block of soul sand on the floor. Three pistons above it pushed three more blocks, so that the soul sand was now stacked in a T-shape. Steven, the SDML Mob Observer, was the first to gasp in realization. "It's building a Wither!"

"Everybody run!" Husky yelled.

Jade let out a shriek as the door suddenly slammed shut on its own accord, pushing her forward. Everyone else ran to the door and tried forcing it open to no avail. They were trapped inside a room where a Wither was being built.

A dispenser placed a white-colored Wither skeleton head on the left side of the T-shape. Bart the Enderman teleported towards the contraption and tried to remove one of the soul sand blocks, but the piston immediately pushed another block forward. Another dispenser shot arrows in Bart's direction and the Enderman had to teleport away to avoid them.

A dispenser placed a black-colored Wither skeleton head on the right side of the T. Finally, the last dispenser placed the middle head on top, a Wither skeleton head that was white on the left side and black on the right. The Wither was complete. Its body of soul sand changed into a spiny, skeletal one and the Wither took flight.

As the rest of the people struggled to break down the door, Mitch and Jerome pulled out their weapons and charged at the Wither in an attempt to buy them more time. Seto raised his hands and started casting a protective shield around the group. But before he could cast it, something no one was expecting happened.

"We haven't even told you the rules yet, and you're already going to break the first one?" the Wither head in the middle said in a mocking tone. Mitch and Jerome halted on the spot, eyes wide in confusion.

Everyone stopped, paralyzed with shock. _It's the same voice we heard on the screen!_ Seto realized with horror.

"Wh-What?" Seth whispered to himself, eyes filled with confusion. Only Seto heard him, though. "Th-That... How can that be possible... What?"

"What the hell are you?!" Sky yelled.

"Well that's just rude!" the black-and-white Wither head exclaimed. "First of all, we are not a 'what', but a 'who'. Second of all, we are MonoWither, the hosts of this excellent, heart-pounding show!"

"This- This prank is getting ridiculous..." Bodil murmured, tugging at his yellow tie.

Suddenly all three heads cackled loudly, making everyone flinch. "Prank?! You're too much! Maybe I _should_ have given you the title of Super Duper Minecrafter Level Troll!" the middle head said.

"We're getting off topic here," Jordan said. "MonoWither, or whoever you are, what do you want from us?"

"Yeah, why did you trap us in here?!" Ryan shouted.

"These are all questions we will be happy to answer! But first of all, Mitch and Jerome need to drop their weapons!"

"Why should we?" Mitch yelled bravely. Jerome tightened his grip on Betty and snarled.

"You are about to violate Rule #5 of the Show Regulations!" MonoWither said in their unnervingly gleeful voice. "'Violence against show host MonoWither is strictly prohibited!' And I'd hate to cause a death so early in the show..."

"'So early in the show?'" Seto echoed. "Does- Does that mean that later on..."

"AHAHAHAHA!" Everyone jumped again as all three heads laughed uproariously. "Well done, Seto, you've caught my hidden meaning!" the middle head said.

"Not if we can help it!" Jerome shouted. "We're not going to let you kill anyone- URGH-!"

Before he could react, the white head launched a Wither Skull at him, making the bacca collapse on the floor. Jerome laid on his back and began to jerk erratically, coughing violently.

Mitch shrieked and dropped his sword, kneeling by Jerome's side. "Oh god, oh god!" Mitch said, panicking. _"Jerome!"_

Everyone rushed to the bacca's side. "We need milk!" Seto yelled. "Does anyone have milk?"

Dave suddenly pulled a random bottle of milk from his pocket. Steven, not bothering to question why the zombie even had that bottle in the first place, grabbed the bottle and gave it to Seto. Seto untwisted the cap and grabbed Jerome's chin, attempting to keep his head still as he poured the contents in Jerome's mouth. Jerome stopped coughing and his body went limp. His eyes rolled back before they closed.

Mitch began to scream hysterically. "JEROME! JEROME NO!" Mitch grabbed Jerome's shoulders and shook them frantically. Sky pulled him back and Mitch struggled to free himself. "Let me go! Let me go! Jerome!"

"Mitch, calm down!" Seto shouted. "Jerome's not dead! He just passed out, he'll be fine in a few hours!"

Mitch wrenched himself from Sky's grip and fell on all fours, crawling towards Jerome. He pressed his ear against Jerome's chest and heard his faint but steady pulse. Mitch choked out a sob of relief and closed his eyes.

"I- I thought he was dead for sure..." Ashley whispered.

"Well he _would_ have died if my dark side had decided to attack him instead of my white side!" MonoWither cut in. "Now you all know just what I'm capable of!"

Mitch raised his head and grit his teeth, shaking with anger. "You... You almost killed Jerome..." He grabbed his diamond sword which was lying the floor and charged forward, roaring.

"Mitch, no!" Jason yelled, grabbing Mitch from behind. Tyler quickly wrenched the sword from Mitch's hands.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU, I SWEAR!" Mitch howled, not thinking clearly at all.

"Such anger! Such fury!" MonoWither exclaimed in mock terror. "Oh, we're positively quivering in fear! Such a courageous man truly deserves his title of the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Hunger Games Champion! Or does he _really_?" Mitch's eyes widened and he stopped fighting. He went completely silent. "That's much better! Well, I think we've wasted enough time as it is, so I'll answer your questions and explain why you're all here!

"First of all, you are all to live a communal lifestyle inside this building from now on!"

No one protested: either they were too afraid to object, or they were just too confused and overwhelmed by everything that was going on.

"In addition, you will all live here forever!"

"F-Forever?!" Annie shrieked.

"Yes, forever! For your entire lives!"

Now people started to speak out in dissent. "But- But- I have a wife and a newborn son!" Sky yelled, horrified.

"And I left Cooper at home!" Ryan said. "He can't feed himself! He'll starve!"

Everyone began to protest, thinking about the family and friends they'd left behind, telling MonoWither that they couldn't do this to them, begging and pleading desperately...

"SHUT UP!" MonoWither yelled.

Everyone obeyed.

"Oh, my apologies, that was not the proper thing for a host to say. I'm afraid my dark side got to me for a moment there! Oh dear, can you just imagine the uproar that will explode online?" MonoWither grinned. "Except imagining is all you'll be able to do, because you will all be shut off from the outside world!"

"Shut off? I-Is that why the windows are all covered?!" Husky asked.

"Ding ding ding! Yes, you are correct! There's no use shouting for help, so you might as well just enjoy your permanent stay here!" MonoWither paused. "Well no, that's not completely the truth..."

"What do you mean?" Jade asked, finally getting the courage to speak up. "Our stay isn't permanent? But you just said that we have to live our entire lives here!"

"Yes, missy, but that's not the full truth. You see, there _is_ a way to get out of here..."

"There is?" Bodil asked hopefully.

"Yes! After all, no one wants to watch a show with no grand finale! Now, in order to leave this place, there is a rule called 'Victory'! The way this rule works is: if a person breaks the peace and order of the daily life here, that person alone will be able to leave!"

"What do you mean by 'breaking the peace and order'?" Seth demanded. "That's way too vague."

"Ahahaha! I'm glad you asked! Simply put, breaking the peace and order means...

"...taking the life of another."

For a few moments, no one spoke. "You mean you want us to _kill someone_?!" Ashley shrieked in horror.

"But... who would we kill in the first place?!" Tyler asked.

"Who else could it be? Your _friends_ , of course!"

The moment Seto heard these words, a shudder of fear and shock ran through his body, from his head to his toes. In order to leave, they had to kill someone? And not just any random person, but their friends?

"STOP IT!" Bodil yelled, his face devoid of color. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE! JUST STOP THIS PRANK AND LET US OUT ALREADY!"

"We already told you, Bodil!" MonoWither said, ignoring (or probably being entertained by) Bodil's distress. "This isn't a prank! This is a _reality_ TV show! Get that through your thick skull and pay attention to your host! We'll let you out as long as you kill someone! And the method doesn't matter. Drowning, strangling, stabbing, burning, poisoning-"

"Shut up!" Jason yelled. He looked positively sick. "I'd never kill anyone! Especially my friends!"

"Oh? _You'd_ never kill anyone? You say that with such confidence, but are you _really_ sure that your friends share the same sentiment?" A chill spread through the room as everyone processed MonoWither's words.

Panic began to set in, plaguing the room like a mad disease.

"I- I don't like this-" Annie stuttered, clutching the ends of her long brown hair, "I don't like this at all-!"

Bonks began drawing something erratically in her notebook in a frantic attempt to calm herself down.

"NO!" Sky screamed, tugging at his curly locks. "I NEED TO GET BACK TO ALESA AND TYLER!"

MonoWither flew over to Sky, hovering right in front of his face. "Ah, the common trope of a father _desperate_ to return to his wife and child! It's absolutely heartwrenching! But you already know what you must do, Super Duper Minecrafter Level Squid Slayer! For the sake of your family, just treat your friends like those dreaded squids and _slice them apart like budder_!" Sky howled loudly in anguish as he sank to the floor. "Oh, but I forgot to mention one thing!" MonoWither said.

Seto felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. What more could there be? How much worse was this going to get?

"You see, it'd be no fun for the viewers if all it took was just a murder for the show to end! So in addition to the rule that you must murder another person to escape, you must also do it _without getting caught_! After a body has been discovered, you will have a certain amount of time to examine the crime scene and find all possible evidence. When that time is over, all the surviving participants of the show will enter the Show Trial! There, they will discuss the murder and find the culprit. If they succeed, and the murderer is caught, then they and they alone will be punished, and the survivors will get to return to their communal lifestyle! However, if they _don't_ find the murderer, then they will _all_ be punished and the murderer will get to leave this place and end the show!"

Jade's voice shook. "And... by 'punished'... I'm assuming you mean 'executed'..."

"Precisely!" MonoWither exclaimed. "Oh, the excitement! The stakes at hand! It's making all three of our minds go numb!"

No one was capable of speaking: the only sound that could be heard was from Sky, who was sobbing inconsolably.

"I guess it's time for me to tell you all of the rules!" MonoWither said excitedly. The projector turned on and showed a Powerpoint slide with seven points.

**1\. The show participants will live a communal lifestyle with no time limit inside the filming area.**

**2\. The time between 10pm and 7am is called "Night Time". During Night Time there are places that are forbidden to enter, so please take care.**

**3\. Sleeping is only permitted in the personal rooms prepared for you in the filming area. Anyone intentionally falling asleep elsewhere will be punished.**

**4\. You may investigate the filming area as you please. There are no special restrictions on your actions.**

**5\. No violence is permitted against the show's host, MonoWither. Destruction of the surveillance cameras is forbidden.**

**6\. A "culprit" who kills a fellow participant will end the show. However, they must not let any other participant know they are the culprit.**

**7\. Additional rules may be added by the host at any time.**

"And with that, our first episode has come to a close! So which will it be? Which will it be?" the strange-looking Wither said, cackling dementedly. "Your freedom? Or the lives of your dear friends..."

Seto looked around at the 15 despair-ridden faces, the faces of those he once thought could be trusted, and realized with a jolt: in this prison, every single one of them was capable of murdering another.

**PROLOGUE: SEASON PREMIERE**

**END**

**STILL ALIVE: 16 PARTICIPANTS**

**ITEM GET! You acquired the present "Empty Milk Bottle".**


	4. Refuge From the Red Death

**PART 01 - EITHER LIVE OR DIE / it's up for me to decide**

MonoWither had allowed them to explore the rest of the filming area, but only on the first floor. According to them, the stairs leading up to the upper floors were all blocked off by a shutter gate, and there was no other way up. MonoWither said that the upper floors were "a surprise for later!"

Seto guessed that the floors would be opened after a Show Trial, given the sadistic cackle that their three hosts had released immediately afterwards.

Silently, the 16 participants (Mitch and Jason had to carry Jerome's unconscious body) filed out of the conference room, each filled with gloom and apprehension. They all stood in the hallway, unsure of what to do.

Jade spoke up first. "Maybe... We should explore the first floor... Like MonoWither said..."

There was no response.

"Come on, we- we have to be optimistic!" Jade said, trying to keep an upbeat voice. "Maybe we'll find a way out, o-or some way to contact the outside world!"

There was still silence for a few moments until Jordan spoke. "You're right. We can't just stand around like this."

Gradually, the dismal expressions on the Minecrafters' faces lessened somewhat. "Should we find the 'personal rooms' that MonoWither said?" Seto offered. "We need to put Jerome somewhere so he can sleep."

They made their way to the central hall, which had a bunch of hallways connecting to it. It didn't take them long to find the hallway leading to their rooms. Each room had a nameplate with the owner's face and name on it. They found Jerome's room, opened the door, and placed the bacca on the bed. "He'll be fine, Mitch," Jason said reassuringly. "Just let him rest."

Mitch's face was unreadable, but he nodded.

They left Jerome to sleep and went back to the central hall. "I say we split up and explore what we can," Tyler said. "We've got 15 people, minus Jerome, so we should divide ourselves into five groups of three."

"Um..." Steven said awkwardly, gesturing to Bart and Dave.

Tyler stared at them before realizing what Steven meant. "Oh, well then I'm guessing you'll go with them, and the rest of us will divide ourselves into four groups of three and one group of two. Sound good?"

Murmurs of assent filled the room. Everyone moved around so that they were all standing in different groups. In the end, the five groups were: Seto, Bonks, Bodil; Sky, Jordan, Seth; Tyler, Jason, Husky; Annie, Ashley, Jade; and finally, Mitch and Ryan.

"So how are we going to do this?" Husky asked when they were all finished. "Do we just split up?"

"Sounds good to me," Annie said. "Then after we're all done, we'll just report back here and discuss what we found."

The groups each went in a different direction. Seto, Bonks, and Bodil decided to check what their bedrooms were like. They went to Bodil's room, since his was the nearest one. When they went in, the first thing Seto noticed was that all of the windows were covered with steel plates, just like the rest of the windows in the building. Seto briefly wondered how they were supposed to tell the time in this place when he saw a clock on the wall. _7 o'clock... pm, I'm assuming._ 7 was usually the time Seto started eating dinner, but he wasn't hungry at all. It was no surprise, given all the terrible ways his life had changed in just one instant...

"AH!" Bodil suddenly shrieked, startling Seto and Bonks.

"What is it?!" Bonks asked, running to Bodil's side.

"That!" Bodil squeaked, pointing at something above the bed. It was a surveillance camera. Bodil quickly climbed onto the bed, reaching his arms out to the camera. "I'm getting that thing away-"

"No!" Bonks yelled, grabbing his arm. "Don't you remember the rule? You can't break the cameras or you'll be punished!"

"But- But I don't want MonoWither watching me 24/7, especially when I'm sleeping!" Bodil said indignantly. "Can't I just... cover it with a piece of paper or something?"

_"AHAHAHA! Of course you can't!"_

Now it was everyone's turn to scream in surprise as MonoWither appeared out of nowhere. "Where the hell did you come from?!" Seto demanded, his heartbeat racing due to the shock.

"Wow, we knew that we were exceptionally attractive for a Wither, but we didn't know that your kokoros would all go doki-doki for us!"

Seto had no idea what "kokoros" going "doki-doki" meant, but he had a feeling that it wasn't important at all. "Shut up! You didn't answer my question!" he yelled angrily. Just looking at that monochromatic Wither made him want to punch that thing to dust.

"Oh geez, so you're the 'tsundere' type, huh?" MonoWither said, slightly disappointed. "Our kokoros just went brokoro... Well, in regards to your question, it simply doesn't matter! We're a Wither, we come and go as we please!"

"Okay, but why do you have this camera?!" Bodil asked. "It's really creepy!"

"Well, obviously it's our job as your hosts to make sure that everything is going in line! So no R-rated activity in this room, Bodil, no matter how many impure, dirty, _filthy_ thoughts you may have about that Super Duper Minecrafter Level Survivalist!"

Bodil turned a bright shade of scarlet. "I do _not_ think about Ashley like that!" he yelled angrily. "First of all, Ashley is a friend, and second of all, that's just plain wrong!"

"There go all the hearts of the Bashley shippers..." MonoWither said, laughing. "Anyway, not only are those cameras there to keep everything under control, but they're also there because some of the footage might be entertaining for our audience!"

"Audience?" Bonks echoed.

"Oops, we may have said a little too much there!" MonoWither said with a giggle. "Guess that's all for now, bastards!" Without another word, MonoWither disappeared just as abruptly as he had appeared.

The three of them were silent for a few moments. "We... have an audience?" Bonks asked anxiously.

"I guess we shouldn't be surprised, given how much MonoWither was talking about 'reality TV shows' and stuff..." Bodil said.

"But why?" Bonks said. "Why would MonoWither want to show this to everyone?"

"Does it matter?" Seto asked. "I mean, I personally think this is a good thing."

"A good thing?!" Bodil exclaimed.

"Don't you see? If MonoWither is showing this to the public, that means that the viewers must know what's happening to us, so I'm pretty sure that they'll find us and we'll be saved!" Seto said.

"You're right!" Bonks said happily.

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess that it isn't so bad after all..." Bodil said, laughing hesitantly.

They went back to examining the room, in far better spirits than before.

Bodily found a lint roller next to the lamp on the nightstand. "Well, this is something that I'm never going to use!" he joked. "My room back home is a trash dump, honestly..."

Seto found a paper on the wall and read it aloud:

**An Announcement from Show Host MonoWither**

**The rooms are soundproof, so any sound made outside of a room will not be heard by its occupant.**

**There is an anti-picking mechanism installed in the room's locks.**

**Duplicating the keys is difficult, so make sure you don't lose yours.**

**Your e-Handbook is important for your daily activities, so please keep it with you at all times. Confirm that your name is displayed on the screen. Also, the e-Handbook is completely waterproof and can easily withstand a weight of over 10 tons.**

**There is a bathtub installed in every room. Please note that during Night Time no water comes out.**

**Additionally, only the bathrooms in girls' rooms can be locked.**

**Finally, I have prepared a small present for you.**

**In the girls' rooms, you'll find a sewing kit; and in the boys', a manly tool set.**

**You'll find a handy map of a human's vital parts attached to the sewing kit, so all you girls can use the needles for full effect!**

**As for the boys, you'll find a blow to the head with a hammer can be very effective!**

**Don't think! Feel! Let's enjoy the show!**

Seto shuddered. So even the ones who hadn't brought weapons with them could kill someone... No, what was he thinking! They wouldn't do that! No one would ever kill another! They were going to get out, and everyone would be fine!

Bonks opened a drawer and pulled out the brand-new tool set that was mentioned in the paper. "Oh geez..." she said, staring at what was inside. There was a pair of tweezers, a large hammer, a screwdriver, and a flashlight. "So... Girls get a sewing kit, right?" Bonks said. "Maybe I should check out what the rooms for girls are like..." She left Bodil's room to find her own.

Seto opened the bathroom door and saw a toilet, a sink, and a bathtub. "Nothing special here, except you can't lock it because it's in a boy's room." Seto reported.

Meanwhile, Bodil found a key and a card on the table. The key had Bodil's name on it, indicating that it was the room key. The card was labeled "e-Handbook". When Bodil picked it up, his name floated up on the screen. "Woah, look at this!" Bodil said to Seto, who went over to see what the e-Handbook was. A menu screen came up with tab buttons labeled "Map", "Evidence", "Character Cast", and finally "Show Rules".

The first two buttons were gray, meaning that they couldn't be used, so Bodil pressed on "Character Cast". The tab opened to show a list of all the 16 participants' names.

Bodil's name was the first one, so he clicked on it. It opened to show a picture of his face alongside a bunch of facts including his full name, age, height, weight, chest size, and even his blood type. His talent, Super Duper Minecrafter Level Traceur, was displayed at the very bottom. "How do they all know this?! Where did they get this info?!" Bodil screamed, sweating nervously. "Even _I_ don't know all this stuff about myself!"

Bodil rapidly scanned through the other name tabs, all containing each individual's personal facts just as his name tab had. He finally stopped when he reached the last one, Jade's. Seto noticed that her age was listed as "16", which meant that she was the only minor and thus the youngest out of all of them. It made him feel slightly ill at the prospect of a 16-year-old having to experience a game of kill or be killed, but then he reminded himself that they would probably be rescued soon.

To take Bodil's mind off the repeated invasions of privacy, Seto pressed on "Show Rules". It had the same rules that MonoWither had shown them on the Powerpoint slide, and nothing new. "I'm guessing we each have our own e-Handbooks with the same thing..." Seto said.

Suddenly, Bonks opened the door. "Did you hear me yelling outside?"

"What? No..." Seto replied, raising an eyebrow.

"So the room _is_ soundproof..." Bonks murmured.

No one said a word, but all of them were realizing the horrific implications of this.

_We're going to be saved. We're going to be saved. We're going to be saved._

"I think we're done here, so we should head back," Bodil said. The three of them left the room and made their way to the main hall.

When they got there, they found that Annie, Ashley, and Jade were already there. "Did you find anything?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah, a lot of important things, actually," Bodil replied. "But I think we'll wait until everyone gets back."

"Good idea," Annie said. "We'll do the same."

"Oh hey!" Jade said, pointing behind them, "Slamacow- I mean- Steven's back!" Sure enough, Steven, Bart, and Dave were walking towards them from the other side of the central hall.

Next came Sky and Tyler's groups, who arrived at around the same time. Both groups seemed rather dejected and upset. Perhaps they hadn't found anything useful...

"Now there's only Mitch and Ryan..." Seto said, checking the clock.

They waited for about ten minutes, but the two still didn't come back. "Do you think something happened to them?" Seth asked nervously.

A terrible thought suddenly entered Seto's mind, making him shiver as he recalled MonoWither's words.

 _"This isn't a prank! This is a_ reality _TV show! Get that through your thick skull and pay attention to your hosts! We'll let you out as long as you kill someone! And the method doesn't matter. Drowning, strangling, stabbing, burning, poisoning-"_

"Oh _there_ you are, Ryan!" Jason exclaimed. "We were getting worried there!"

Seto released the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. It was all okay, no one had been killed, he could stop feeling so anxious.

"Where's Mitch?" Sky asked, his tone unusually quiet and somber.

"Right behind me," Ryan said, grinning.

To everyone's surprise and delight, Mitch walked in supporting Jerome, who was having slight trouble moving on his own. "Jerome's awake!" Jade shouted.

"You alright man?" Husky asked, slightly concerned.

"Yep!" Jerome said, grunting slightly as he leaned against the wall and sat down. Mitch sat down next to him. "It'd take more than a Wither effect to take _me_ down! I'll be back to my usual self in a few days!"

Ashley spoke up hesitantly. "Did anyone tell you... what happened?"

There was silence. "Yeah," Mitch said solemnly. "That's actually why we took so long." More silence.

"So!" Tyler said, cutting in by clapping his hands together. "I think we should discuss what we found! Who wants to go first?"

"I will," Steven replied. "Bart, Dave, and I were trying to find a way out of here. Bart teleported to the other side of the shutter gate that blocks the stairs, but then MonoWither appeared and said that the stairs were 'off-limits'. Then he basically forced him to teleport back by threatening him." A dark expression crossed Steven's face and he shuddered. "MonoWither said that since Bart and Dave aren't technically participants, he can kill them at any time because they aren't part of the show, so he told me to keep them in line or else..."

Steven looked apprehensive, but Bart merely stared into the distance, completely unfazed by MonoWither's threat. Meanwhile, Dave just stood there with his arms outstretched, clueless as always.

"So... there's no way out," Sky said quietly.

Steven stared at the ground. "Yeah. Sorry."

"No need to apologize, Steven," Tyler said, a grin on his face. Seto concluded that the SDML Drama Actor was just using his talent to give off an upbeat mentality for the sake of everyone. "Alright, who's up next?"

Ashley raised her hand. "Annie, Jade, and I found two elevators, but when we forced the doors open, they were both empty. There were just shafts, and no elevators. It was too dark to see how far up they go, though. That's basically all we found. I wouldn't try climbing the shafts."

Ryan went next. "Mitch and I went looking for food," he said. "We needed to make sure that we actually have food to eat in this place."

"There's a cafeteria," Mitch said, "and there's also a kitchen with a fridge. It's packed with food, so we're good."

"What if the food runs out though?" Annie asked.

"We can survive by rationing out the food," Ashley said. "The human body is capable of supporting itself with fewer nutrients than you'd expect-"

"Yeah, well, you're known for being a survivalist for a reason, Ashley!" Bodil said, laughing. "Not everyone's strong like you!"

 _Is he... blushing? Or is that just me?_ Seto wondered briefly.

"According to MonoWither, our food supply will be restocked," Mitch said. "So we should be fine."

"But what if he's lying?" Bonks asked, worried. "What if this is his way of making us die off faster?"

"He wouldn't want us to die off like that!" Jade said. "Think about it! He wants _entertainment_ , he doesn't want his 'show' to end with all of us just dying slowly! He'd probably find that boring or something!"

"How do you know that for sure?" Husky asked.

Jade paused. "I have good intuition."

"It does make sense, though," Jerome admitted.

"So now we know that we have food!" Tyler said with artificial excitement, seemingly eager to get keep everyone feeling optimistic. "Any other finds? How about Sky's group?"

Sky, Jordan, and Seth all glanced at each other nervously. "W-Well..." Seth stuttered.

Sky sighed. "We didn't find anything useful. End of story."

Tyler's smile faltered a little bit. "Same with our group." Jason and Husky nodded sadly.

"Our group didn't _find_ anything useful," Jordan said suddenly. "But we _did_ talk about MonoWither."

This seemed to intrigue the other people. "What did you find out about him?" Seto asked curiously.

Seth spoke up. "Well first of all, there's no way that he's a real Wither. Withers don't talk and they definitely don't have personalities. Plus, the colors are all wrong."

"So what _is_ he then?" Jason asked.

Seth paused. "I- I know this will seem pretty crazy, but... He must be some advanced machine whose actions and words are controlled, maybe even pre-programmed, by a human being. If it's pre-programmed, then the machine is just responding to us with advanced algorithms prepared in advance. And if it's currently being controlled, then there's someone running the thing in another place and speaking to us with his or her own voice."

Some of the vocabulary went completely over their heads, but everyone got the general idea of what Seth had said. "Is that even possible?!" Husky questioned.

The SDML Redstone Mechanic nodded. "I would know, because I've actually heard of some corporations attempting to create this kind of technology. It's not a far stretch to assume that someone actually succeeded, but just kept it a secret. After all, this technology would be worth millions, possibly even billions, and other people would try to steal the prototypes and replicate the technology for their own usage."

"But why would someone use this technology for... _this_?!" Ryan demanded. "Sadistic fuck..." he muttered under his breath.

"I think we should try to find out who's controlling MonoWither," Annie said. "Any ideas?"

"It must be that Henri Lennet guy!" Jade declared. "He must be controlling MonoWither from a room in the higher floors! That must be why MonoWither didn't want Bart going up there, right?"

"...It's our best guess..." Mitch said.

"Who the hell cares?" Sky snapped suddenly, his voice echoing throughout the central hall. "At any rate, knowing all of this won't help us escape this damn place!"

No one had the heart to call out Sky for his pessimistic attitude. Seto bit his lip with sympathy. It was clear that out of the 16 of them, Sky had taken the thought of permanent imprisonment and seclusion from the outside world the worst, and for a good reason too.

"Don't worry, Sky," Seto said in an attempt to raise his friend's spirits. "I'm pretty sure that we'll be rescued in a few days."

Sky's head whipped to face Seto. "How the hell do you know, huh?!" Sky yelled. "How do you know?!" He began to towards Seto with long, quick strides.

Seto backed away from him, suddenly afraid. "Sky?"

"You don't have proof of that!" Sky continued to shout as he approached Seto, his body trembling with fury.

Tyler ran forward to stop him. "Woah, woah, woah, Sky, calm down-"

"Stay out of this!" Sky yelled, pushing Tyler away.

Seto's back collided with the wall. "S-Sky! Stop!" he pleaded.

"NO! I'm _done_ with people telling me that everything's going to be fine, because it's not!" Sky continued to move closer until they were inches away from each other. "Don't just tell me 'Oh, don't worry' like that will somehow make everything magically okay, because it won't! Nothing's okay! NOTHING'S OKAY!" With a shout, Sky furiously punched the wall right next to Seto's head.

"SKY!" Seto shrieked in fear.

With a jolt, Sky returned to his senses. His eyes widened behind his sunglasses and he stared at his fist for a few moments before lowering it. "Oh- Oh god-" he stammered, backing away from Seto. "I- I didn't mean it- I'm so sorry Seto, I shouldn't have-"

"-No, it's fine," Seto interrupted.

Sky tried to argue against him. "No, it's _not_ fine, I almost hit-"

"-I'm telling you that it's fine. You were just stressed. We all are. It's fine."

"But-"

"-Sky, it's fine!" Seto insisted. "Really! Let's- Let's just talk about what Bonks, Bodil, and I found, and just forget about all of this!"

Sky didn't seem to accept this at all, but he knew from the all-too familiar look on Seto's face that there was absolutely no point in pursuing the matter.

"So what did you find?" Tyler asked, once again trying to alleviate the tension and solemn mood.

"We checked the rooms they gave us," Seto replied. "First of all, there are security cameras in every one." Everyone had a mixture of horrified and disturbed reactions. "I know it's creepy, but the rules forbid us from destroying the cameras. MonoWither also appeared just to tell us why we couldn't cover the lenses. According to him, or I guess whoever's controlling the thing, the cameras are there to monitor us and also because, quote on quote, 'some of the footage might be entertaining for their audience'. When Bonks asked him about that, he said that he'd spoken too much and disappeared."

Everyone took a few moments to process this. "So what you're saying is, this whole thing is being broadcast to the public?!" Steven asked. "But why?"

"I don't know, but this is probably a good thing!" Seto said assuringly.

"If people are watching this, that means they know we're in trouble..." Jerome murmured, still sitting by the wall.

"...which means that they'll come and rescue us!" Sky said, his voice beginning to return back to its typical cheerful tone. "Is that what you meant, Seto?"

Seto nodded. "Exactly! So we should all just stay calm and wait until we get rescued!"

Everyone seemed elated by this news. "See!" Jade exclaimed happily. "I knew that staying optimistic was the right thing to do!" Then she yawned. "Oh, but it's getting pretty late..."

"Yeah, Night Time's going to start pretty soon," Jordan said. "Let's head back to our rooms and call it a day." It had been a long day, indeed. No one objected as they said good night to one another and entered their rooms.

Seto realized that there were no pajamas, so he removed his gray cloak and laid it on the table before collapsing on the bed. That was when he heard it.

"This is an announcement from your hosts," MonoWither's voice said gleefully. "It is now 10 pm. Night Time begins now. The cafeteria's doors will be locked shortly. You are forbidden to enter it. Well then, good night! I wish you all have pleasant dreams..."

Seto sighed wearily as he closed his eyes, but his mood had brightened considerably after his discovery. Perhaps there _was_ hope for them, after all...

And so, their first night ended with a feeling of peace and assurance that everything would turn out all right.

But all of them would soon find out that pleasant dreams were easily dashed to pieces in a hellish place like this.

* * *

**MONOWITHER THEATER**

**We are so very glad, as your hosts, to see our show take off so well!**

**It fills us with such delight to see our participants adapt to their new lives.**

**We'd like to thank each and every one of you for making this show possible! It could never be made possible without wonderful viewers like you!**

**That is all for tonight. Tomorrow is when the** _**real** _ **excitement begins!**


	5. Little Shop of Horrors

**DING DONG, DING DONG**

**Good morning, bastards! It's 7 in the morning! Time to wake up!**

**Let's all strive to have fun and entertain the audience today!**

Seto opened his eyes groggily. He rubbed them, yawning, before sitting up. He stretched his arms and looked around before stopping. _What the- This isn't my room-_

And then it all came crashing back: the letter, the gas, MonoWither's words, the fact that someone would have to kill another in order to leave-

 _N_ o, he reminded himself, _we're going to be saved soon. Just keep calm._ Seto breathed deeply to prevent himself from hyperventilating.

Seto took off his clothes, went into the bathroom, and took a quick shower. As he felt the warm water running over his skin, he suddenly had a terrible thought: Were there cameras watching him in the bathroom too? Seto shuddered with paranoia as he quickly turned off the water and moved aside the curtain to grab a towel. He dried himself before wrapping the towel around him.

After putting his clothes back on, he decided to go to the cafeteria to eat breakfast and meet with the others. He was almost out the door when he heard someone behind him say in a gleeful voice, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Seto flinched but stood his ground. He would not show fear in front of MonoWither. "Forgetting _what_?" Seto snapped, turning around.

"Your key and your e-Handbook, of course!" MonoWither exclaimed. "I explicitly told you that you needed to keep these on your person at all times!" Annoyed, Seto walked back and snatched them from the table before running back out and slamming the door shut. As he stormed down the hallway, he heard MonoWither behind him say, "Wait! You need to lock your door!"

Seto whirled around. "Go away," he hissed. "Leave me alone."

"Oh, that hurts our feelings!" MonoWither said in a pained voice.

"Good," Seto said, walking back towards the central hall. However, he could still hear MonoWither hovering a few feet behind him, following him. "I told you to go away!"

"Seto-senpai won't notice me... Boo hoo hoo..." MonoWither said in a disappointed voice, all three of their heads drooping as they flew off in the other direction.

Seto entered the cafeteria, gritting his teeth in irritation. A blast of cold air blew straight in his face as he opened the fridge. He grabbed an apple and closed the fridge before sitting at one of the tables, chewing on the fruit.

Seto was the only one there for a few minutes before Jade appeared in the cafeteria, wearing her light-blue dress as well as a white begonia that was clipped onto her hair. She rummaged through the fridge before pulling out a cup of instant noodles. "What the hell... Who organized this...?" she muttered to herself before shrugging her shoulders and shutting the door. Jade found the boiling water and poured it into the cup before closing the lid. She then made her way back to the tables and sat three seats to the left away from Seto, trying not to look at him.

It seemed that she was still nervous around the Minecrafters, although she was starting to open up to Ashley and Annie.

Seto decided that since they were the only ones there, he might as well get to know her a little better. "Jade?" he asked.

Jade flinched in surprise and turned to him. "Yeah?"

There was weariness in her tone of voice and she seemed to be struggling to keep her eyes open. "Um, did you get enough sleep last night?" he asked, concerned.

Her response was immediate. "Hah! No!" she said, laughing a little.

"Why?"

Jade seemed nonchalant about it. "Sometimes, I like reading books late at night with just the lamp on and no other lights. I guess that's why I have these, huh?" she said, tapping her glasses.

"...Okay then." There was silence as Jade began to eat her instant noodles. Seto tried to think of something else to say. "...What book were you reading?"

"A collection of stories written by Edgar Allan Poe. He's my favorite author."

Seto suddenly remembered that this girl was only 16 years old. "Are you... scared?"

She seemed a little confused by the question. "Of what?"

"Of our situation."

"Well at first I was, but after what you said yesterday, I feel better now. Really, I'm just afraid of _who's_ doing this to us. What's their motive? Do they think they're somehow doing the right thing, or are they just doing this for fun? Honestly, humans and their ranging state of minds scare me sometimes..."

"Do you miss your family?"

"Of course I do..." Jade paused to think. "Oh geez, Mom and Dad are probably at home, worrying about the fact that I didn't call them like I said I would... Maybe they've even called my older sister. She's gone to Miner's Institute of Technology for college. They're all probably super worried about me... But it's okay. We'll get out of here soon, and Mom and Dad will never let me out of their sight ever again." Jade smiled at this thought.

"But how can you stay so optimistic?" Seto asked, perplexed.

"I wouldn't call myself _optimistic_..." Jade admitted. "It's more like I trust you guys a lot."

"Why?"

Jade shrugged. "I've always admired you guys. You guys have all cheered me up countless times. Plus, you're all inspirational to me. So there's that. This will probably sound really weird, since you don't know me at all, but I _know_ that you're all good people who'd never kill your friends. Even if we do have to stay here forever, at least no one's going to betray and kill one another..." She shuddered at the thought. "But don't get me wrong, I'd very much prefer it if we escaped this horrible place! I just go by the phrase that 'every cloud has a silver lining', you know? It makes just things better."

Seto nodded. This girl sounded so naïve and innocent, and yet at the same time she was not.

"Um, Seto, if it's not too weird for you, can I tell you something?" Jade said.

Seto raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sure, as long as it's not something like 'I've massacred thousands of people and you're next.'"

Jade stared at him for a moment before she burst out laughing. "Nah, it's not, trust me! Anyway, this is really stupid, but I've always wanted to be an actual author, and not just a fanfic author. Yeah. That's all I wanted to tell you. It's kind of a dumb dream though..."

"No, it's not! I think you can do it!" Seto said supportively.

Jade looked extremely skeptical. "...You've never even read any of my stuff."

"Well if you enjoy doing it, and you keep on working on it, then I'm sure that something will come out of it..."

Jade chewed over what Seto had said before grinning shyly. "...Thanks, Seto. That's what I needed to hear." That was when Mitch, Ryan, and Jerome walked in, and that was the end of their conversation.

"Hey doods!" Mitch yelled, in far better spirits than the day before. Seto and Jade waved at them. Mitch and Ryan rummaged through the pantry and took out a bunch of granola bars. Meanwhile, Jerome opened the fridge. "What the-" he said, pulling out a red soda can that said "Koka-Kola". "Is this one of those cheap knock-offs?!"

 _"Well of course! There are copyright issues with displaying licensed products without permission, you know?"_ MonoWither suddenly exclaimed, appearing right above the fridge.

Jerome shrieked and shut the door immediately, making the fridge shake. "D-Don't startle me like that!" the bacca yelled.

"Aw, you're just like Seto..." MonoWither complained. "You're our senpai and you hate us..."

"Who _wouldn't_ hate you?" Ryan said, annoyed.

MonoWither pretended to cry. "Wah! Ryan-senpai is so mean to us!"

"Oh just shut up already!" Mitch yelled, pulling Ryan and Jerome away from the monochromatic Wither. While Mitch wasn't one to get angry often, MonoWither was obviously succeeding in provoking his aggravation. Jerome's near-death was probably still lingering in the back of his mind.

MonoWither remained in the kitchen, remaining strangely silent as Mitch had ordered him to, but the heads all started smiling mischievously and their three red eyes gleamed. Seto felt apprehensive about this. What was MonoWither so pleased about? It couldn't mean anything good...

It was at around 7:30 when more people began making their way to the cafeteria. People began joking and chattering over their morning breakfast, as though everything was perfectly normal. Bodil slid over next to Seto. "Hello!" he said with his quirky accent.

"Hey, Bodil," Seto replied.

"I had the weirdest dream last night."

"That's nothing new," Seto said, grinning. "What happened this time?"

"You and I were doing parkour and all of a sudden you grew wings!"

"What?!" Seto snickered.

"And then you flew up like a majestic angel and punched MonoWither in the face! It was the most beautiful thing!"

Bodil laughed his strange yet contagious laugh and Seto snorted. "I wish that _wasn't_ a dream. If only there wasn't that 'No violence against the host' rule."

"Oh by the way, is everyone awake?" Bodil asked.

Seto looked around and did a head count. "15 people are here... Only one person's not..."

It was now 7:45, 45 minutes since MonoWither's morning announcement. "Who's missing?" Bodil asked.

Seto quickly checked. "Bonks isn't here..."

"She's still not?"

Seto felt chills run up and down his spine with apprehension. _No... No one would actually..._ "I... Uh... I'll go wake her up... She's probably still sleeping..."

"G-Good idea," Bodil said, pulling at his yellow tie nervously.

Seto smoothed out the crinkles in his cloak as he stood up and made his way down the hallway leading to their rooms. He scanned the nameplates before finding the one with Bonks' face and name. Seto knocked on the door. "Bonks?" he asked, before remembering that the rooms were soundproof.

Seto rapped on the door again, this time harder. _Please open up, please open up..._ His heart began to pound with that same staccato rhythm he'd had when the 16 of them had walked to the conference room, completely unaware of their predicament.

_"Drowning, strangling, stabbing, burning, poisoning-"_

Out of pure desperation, Seto slammed his fists against the door and was surprised when it actually opened. Bonks stood on the other side, pink eyes gleaming with annoyance. She was wearing a wrinkled white T-shirt with neon-green shorts. "What?!" she snapped groggily. "Can't a person sleep in?"

Seto sighed in relief. "Sorry Bonks, it's just that you were the only one still sleeping, so I got a little worried..."

"Well I appreciate the concern, but honestly!" Bonks grumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Wait, am I really the only one still sleeping?"

"Yes! Didn't MonoWither's announcement wake you up?!"

"...I must have slept through that, since I have no idea what you're talking about..."

Seto facepalmed, but he was smiling. Once again, he had been worried for no reason.

"Well, I'll be up in a sec, so see you later!" Bonks said, shutting the door.

Seto walked back to the cafeteria. "Well?" Bodil asked, worried.

"She's fine, she just slept through the announcement," Seto replied.

The tension relaxed again and they resumed their morning chatter.

* * *

By around 9:30, everyone had finished eating and decided to roam the grounds. Seto chose to hang out with Sky and Tyler for the morning.

"We actually found this room yesterday," Sky said, gesturing to a door with a scanner next to it, "but it was locked. We looked inside the window and saw a bunch of computers..."

Seto peered through the dark window and nodded. "I wonder why MonoWither would lock it though."

"Maybe MonoWither's afraid that we'll contact the outside world using the computers?" Tyler suggested.

_"YOU'VE GOT THAT WRONG!"_

"AH! HOLY SHIT!" Tyler screamed in a high-pitched voice when he heard all three of MonoWither's heads yell directly into his left ear. He covered his ears with both of his hands and winced in pain.

Seto and Sky both glared at MonoWither, who merely snickered. "Teehee! We're sorry, but we just couldn't resist making that reference!"

"Fuck off," Sky hissed.

"Upupupu... The cold, bitter hatred that's being directed at us! It makes us want to run straight for Momma! But she's in some other place... Oh, such hatred can only be possessed by someone who is capable of committing horrific, bloody, vile murder!"

Sky balled his hands into tight fists, turning his knuckles white, but wisely chose not to use them. "I would _never_ kill anyone, no matter how worried I am about Alesa and Tyler."

Tyler looked confused before remembering who Sky's child was named after.

"Is that so?" MonoWither inquired. Sky nodded and glared vehemently at the black-and-white Wither from behind his sunglasses. "We'll see about that..." MonoWither said ominously.

"Ignore him, Sky," Seto said. "MonoWither, tell us why you've locked the computer room, if it's not to keep us from contacting others."

"Oh, well first of all, _we're_ not the one who locked it! The people who created this place did! You just have to use your e-Handbook and scan it and pop goes the silverfish!"

Seto pulled out his e-Handbook, stared at it for a few moments, before putting it on the scanner by the door. A light on the e-Handbook blinked green before the doorknob turned with a click. The door opened to reveal several rows of laptops.

"Your e-Handbook will allow you to access most rooms! See, aren't you glad we reminded you to bring yours this morning? We're always looking out for our dear Seto-sama!"

"Oh would you just stop talking like a weeaboo?" Sky snapped.

 _What in the world is a weeaboo?_ Seto wondered. He had the feeling that he was better off not knowing.

"Okay, okay, fine! Anyway, you _can't_ contact the outside world with these laptops! There's no internet connection and the Wi-Fi's password protected!"

Tyler walked over to a laptop in the front row and turned it on. A home screen with a wallpaper of MonoWither appeared. He moved the mouse to the bottom-right of the screen and turned on the Wi-Fi. Only one network popped up. "MonoWither's Network," Tyler read aloud. "Wow, original," he muttered sarcastically. There was a picture of a lock by the symbol, indicating that it was indeed password-protected.

"So... we can't do anything useful with these computers?" Seto said.

"Well, I've actually created entertaining games for you to play!" MonoWither exclaimed gleefully. "Unfortunately, none of them were accepted by Steam... No one has good tastes these days..."

"Not interested," Sky said immediately.

Tyler slammed the laptop shut and stood up. "Let's just go somewhere else."

MonoWither watched them go, still smiling that mischievous smile...

* * *

The three of them walked down the hallway. "Maybe we should check out the rooms we thought were locked," Sky said. They stopped in front of a door and Seto scanned his e-Handbook to open it.

They walked in the room and were met with...

"You again?!" Sky yelled.

MonoWither grinned, floating behind a shop counter. "Hello, customers! Would you like to buy some brand-new, handy-dandy killing devices?! We have nooses for 10 WitherCoins..." MonoWither flew up to a noose that was hanging on display. The three humans followed the Wither's movements with their eyes, rooted to the ground with bewildered shock and horror at the sight of so many weapons in one place.

MonoWither flew down to the glass case filled with shining blades of all shapes and sizes. "...We have knives for 20 WitherCoins..."

They shifted to the side where larger handheld weapons were hanging on the wall. "...swords and axes for 50..."

MonoWither hovered by a cabinet containing glass flasks filled with different liquids. "...Potions of Weakness and Harming for 80..."

MonoWither floated over the counter and stopped a few feet in front of them. "...And if you're _really_ serious about murdering someone quickly and efficiently while putting them through maximum pain, we have the one-and-only 'MonoWither's Special Poison'!" All three heads grinned and the middle head winked. "That flask's in the back, though. It costs 100 WitherCoins, so stock up!"

"WitherCoins?" Seto echoed.

"You mean these things?" Tyler asked, pulling out a copper coin from his pocket. It had an image of a Wither head engraved on it.

"Where'd you get those?" Sky asked.

"I found a bunch in my room. They're hidden in the most random of places... I have, like, 10 of them or something."

"Yep!" MonoWither said. "You can also find them hidden around the building. We're feeling extra generous today, so here you go!" They levitated a bag of coins and tossed it at the three. "30 WitherCoins to divide amongst yourselves!"

Seto stared at the bag before looking up at the dangerous items on display. He felt nausea twist his stomach. "No- No thanks!"

Tyler stepped away from the bag as though it was loaded with volatile explosives. Sky merely picked up the bag and hurled it back. "Take your coins and shove them up your ass."

"Well that's just rude!" MonoWither said. "Such crude language isn't appropriate for TV! Cursing is already pushing it, but I'm going to have to censor your vile words! Don't you have quite a few fans who are kids? What would their parents say?!"

Sky scoffed. "Parents shouldn't be letting their children watch this stuff anyway."

"Ugh, but are you sure you don't want these coins? The prices of these lethal weapons will go up every few days!"

"We're not buying any weapons because we're not killing anyone," Sky declared. "And that's final!"

"Oh, but I've even crafted a special budder sword just for you! I'll even give you a 20% discount! Only 40 WitherCoins! Now you can _really_ slice your friends apart like-"

"-It's called gold, and shut up. You're seriously getting on my nerves."

"...Fine, if that's what you want. But my offer still stands. If you feel like you're 30 WitherCoins short of buying something you want, then just come back!"

The three of them silently agreed to leave the room immediately. "I hate that thing more and more every second..." Tyler muttered the moment they were in the hallway.

"He's really serious about wanting us to kill somebody..." Seto said quietly. "Why?"

Sky didn't say anything. He had his fists clenched tightly, seething with unadulterated rage. Tyler patted his shoulder. "Let's just go back to the cafeteria and grab something to eat..."

* * *

After lunch, Ashley and Annie asked Seto to help them with something, so Seto followed them to the elevators. Ashley pressed the button to open one of them. The doors slid apart to reveal an empty shaft. The three of them walked inside the shaft and stared upwards into the darkness. "So what did you need me for?" Seto asked.

"We need some way to see how high this thing goes," Annie replied. "Do you know any spells that could help?"

Seto thought for a moment before pressing his hands together. They began to glow a soft purple light. A ball of magic formed between his palms, growing as he slowly spread his hands apart. He stopped when the swirling ball of light was about the size of his head.

Both of the girls stared at the luminous ball with wide eyes, the purple glow casting light on their captivated faces. "Woah..." Ashley said, awestruck.

Seto tossed the surprisingly lightweight ball up into the air. The ball soared upwards, casting away the shadows to reveal one... two... three... four other elevator doors in the shaft. Then the ball dropped and Seto caught it in his hands.

"So this building is five stories high," Annie concluded.

"Now I _really_ want to know what's on those other floors..." Ashley said. "I wonder if climbing this shaft would be against the show regulations. I mean, wasn't there that rule... wait, hold on, let me check-" Ashley pulled out her e-Handbook and checked the rules. "Yep. Rule #4: 'You may investigate the filming area as you please. There are no special restrictions on your actions.'"

"But MonoWither didn't allow Bart to go up the stairs yesterday..." Seto said.

"Well there's a gate blocking those stairs, indicating that entering through _there_ is prohibited," Ashley argued. "But there are no barriers blocking me from climbing this." Before the others could stop her, she walked over to the cords that once connected the elevator to the shaft and began to pull herself up.

"Wait, Ashley!" Annie yelled, worried for her friend's safety. "Just yesterday you said that climbing up the shaft was dangerous!"

"I said that because there wasn't any light," Ashley replied. "Plus, I didn't notice these cords last time."

"But what if you fall?!"

The red-shirted girl scoffed as she pulled herself upwards. "I'm not going to fall."

"Forget about falling," Seto shouted in an attempt to dissuade her, "it's really hard to see up there!"

Ashley would have shrugged nonchalantly had she not been heaving herself up a bunch of thick cords. She was already about five feet above them. "My eyes'll adapt eventually. That, or you can just make that ball of light appear again. Wait, don't guys get a toolkit with a flashlight? Why don't you just get yours, it'll make things easier!"

"How are you even going to get to the doors?" Annie yelled. "How are you going to open them from the inside?"

The SDML Survivalist stopped, hanging there above the ground. "Um..."

"Seriously, get down from there!" Seto begged. "You could badly injure yourself!"

Ashley looked upwards before sighing in disappointment. "Fine... I guess you're right..." she muttered, as she slowly climbed her way back down. Annie and Seto sighed in relief. Ashley went down about three feet before letting go of the cords and landing safely on her feet.

The three of them walked out of the elevator shaft and closed the doors.

* * *

Seto hung out with Steven, Seth, and Jordan for the rest of the day. Bart and Dave silently walked beside them; Bart was vigilantly looking around (like usual) while Dave was deeply absorbed in his GameBoy (like usual). They were exploring a hallway connected to the central hall that no one had examined the day before.

The first room they saw was one labeled "ENTRANCE TO BASEMENT". Jordan tried opening the door, but it was locked. Steven took out his e-Handbook and tried scanning it, but instead of green, it blinked red. The rest all did the same to no avail. "Maybe it's broken," Seth said.

" _Maybe it's Maybelli- oh wait, product placement alert!_ "

By this time Seto was too used to this to even be surprised anymore, but the three others weren't. They shrieked loudly and jumped at the sudden appearance of MonoWither. Bart teleported between Steven and MonoWither and proceeded to glare down at the three-headed, black-and-white creature with utter disdain. Seto briefly wondered what kind of words Bart would be saying in this instant if he could speak. It was probably good for MonoWither that Bart could not.

"Cut that out!" Steven exclaimed. Seth just stared at MonoWither with an unreadable expression. "You keep doing this and it's not funny!"

"But it's your fault you bastards are all so boring!" MonoWither complained. "Seriously, is this how you provide entertainment for the viewers of 'Mob Encounters'? At this rate our viewer count will plummet!"

"Good, then maybe this show will get canceled and we can leave this awful place," Jordan murmured.

"Well there's absolutely no chance of that happening!" MonoWither said. "This show will only end once one of you bastards murders another! Come on, it's not that hard! We're even _selling_ you the tools you need to kill someone, so hurry up!"

"You're _selling_ them _here_?!" Seth yelled, horrified.

"MonoWither's got this shop with all sorts of weapons and dangerous stuff on the other side of the building," Seto explained. "But you have to pay using 'WitherCoins'."

"WitherCoins? What are those?" Steven asked.

Right on cue, Dave (who was still tapping at his gaming device) bumped into a wall, dropped his GameBoy, and fell flat on his back with a thump, letting dozens of WitherCoins spill out of his pockets and roll about on the floor. Bart rolled his purple eyes and pulled him back onto his feet before picking up all the coins.

"Looks like you got lucky there!" MonoWither declared. "I counted exactly 34 coins! That'll be enough for you to buy a knife and a noose! Or maybe three nooses, if you're really... _hanging_ in there!"

Steven looked positively appalled at the prospect of buying said dangerous items.

"Okay let's just get back on topic. Why can't we enter the storage room?" Seto demanded, interrupting MonoWither's shenanigans.

"It's because none of you are authorized!" MonoWither replied. "The scanner only accepts the e-Handbooks that are authorized!"

"Who is authorized to enter, then?" Seth asked. "And why would the entrance to the basement need authorization anyway?"

"Questions, questions, questions!" MonoWither chanted. "Well, that's none of your business! First of all, as the hosts of this show, we're the only ones who're authorized to enter! Second of all, the basement is blocked for a reason! Who knows, maybe there's a terrifying amount of creepers or spiders or spooky scary skeletons in there! Hey, Super Duper Minecrafter Level Mob Observer, maybe we should just toss you in there and see what happens!" All three heads began to cackle sadistically.

Steven took a step back and Bart growled protectively.

"Well, it doesn't matter for now, so don't worry your pretty little heads over it! Just go explore the trash room or something! And you'd better start planning out some murders because it's only the second day and we can't take this boringness much longer!"

And with that, MonoWither was gone, but Seto expected them to make even more reappearances later on.

They went down the hallway, looking for the trash room MonoWither had mentioned. It didn't take them long to find it. Unlike the basement, this one did not require authorization to enter. Inside was a rather large incinerator. Seth went over and pressed the green button, igniting the flames inside. The orange flames crackled loudly.

"...this is how we're suppose to dispose of trash?" Jordan said skeptically. "Just by burning it?"

Seto's first thought was how easy it would be to destroy evidence of a crime scene and he shuddered immediately as a result. Why in the world had he thought that?

Steven found a sign on the wall. "'Off Limits During Night Time,'" he read aloud.

"Is there anything else we need to explore here?" Jordan asked.

Seth shrugged. "Guess that's everything we need."

They headed back to the central hall. By now it was almost Night Time, so they decided to go back to their rooms. After bidding each other good night, Jordan, Steven, Bart, and Dave left the area, leaving Seto alone with Seth. Seth awkwardly placed his hands in the pockets of his blue overalls and stared at the floor. "Um... Seto...?" he asked nervously. "Can I... tell you something?"

Seto was confused, but replied, "Sure..."

Seth chewed on his lip. "Who do you think... is behind all this?"

"Behind all this? You mean who's controlling MonoWither?" Seth nodded. "Well, Henri Lennet is our best guess, but that's probably a fake name or something."

"So you have absolutely no idea who made MonoWither?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Seth was about to reply but then looked over Seto's shoulder. A look of horror crossed his face. "I- Um- On second thought, maybe I'll just tell you tomorrow or some other time-!" he stammered wildly. "G-Good night!" He then proceeded to run to his room.

Seto turned around and saw MonoWither floating just a few feet away, grinning eerily. "What are you doing here?!" he snapped.

"Oh, just making sure everyone's heading off to bed before Night Time begins!" MonoWither said. "Tomorrow will be an exciting day for all of us, so you should get as much rest as possible!"

Seto narrowed his eyes with suspicion but did as he was told. He had a feeling that MonoWither wouldn't answer any of his questions anyway. But what did they mean by "an exciting day"?

"This is an announcement from your hosts," MonoWither's voice said cheerfully from the speakers. "It is now 10 pm. Night Time begins now. The cafeteria's doors will be locked shortly. You are forbidden to enter it. Well then, good night! I wish you all have pleasant dreams..."

Seto brushed his teeth and laid on the bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. It was only the second day, and yet it felt like he'd been here for weeks. He tried to sleep, but found that he could not; the thought of what MonoWither might have planned for tomorrow lurked incessantly in the back of his mind. He tossed and turned restlessly as a result before finally dozing off to sleep.

* * *

**MONOWITHER THEATER**

**We apologize for this filler episode/chapter. It seems that none of our participants are particularly eager to let the fun begin. Yes, we know, it's quite boring... But tomorrow we have a way to ensure that something exciting happens! So keep your eyes on this screen and we'll be right back with some heart pounding drama!**

**Finally, we leave to you some words of wisdom. As the common proverb goes, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few minds and spirits.**

**...That's how the proverb goes, right?**


	6. Snuff Film

_He was running, running desperately for his life. His feet sloshed against the mud and he was soaked to the bone due to the rain that poured down relentlessly. Lightning split the sky apart and thunder boomed, echoing the rapid beating of his heart._

_He clung onto the fringes of his ebony-colored cloak and struggled to keep his hood over his head as the wind blew forcefully against his figure. He was cold, so very cold, but he needed to keep running. He was gasping for breath as he fled through the woods, unsure of where his aching legs were taking him. It didn't matter. Nothing really mattered anymore. Oh god, oh god, oh god, what had he done..._

_Suddenly, his foot collided against a tree root and he tripped, falling on all fours into the sticky mud. Immediately, he picked himself up and continued to run.. _He wanted to stop and rest, to break down into ragged sobs, but his panic spurred him onwards._ He wiped his eyes with his sleeve as he ran, but what hurt the most was the fact that he couldn't run away from himself..._

**DING DONG, DING DONG**

Seto jolted awake at the sound of the alarm, his dilated pupils darting back and forth as he gasped sharply.

**Good morning, bastards! It's 7 in the morning! Time to wake up!**

The blankets had been kicked aside and were now lying on the floor in a heap.

**Let's all strive to have fun and entertain the audience today!**

Seto slowly lifted a trembling hand and gently touched his face to find his cheeks moist with salty tears.

* * *

Jade was the first one in the cafeteria this time. She was eating a banana while reading a book, _Edgar Allan Poe: A Collection of Stories_ (the same book she'd been reading yesterday, apparently). She looked up when Seto entered and waved at him. Seto smiled halfheartedly and waved back before sitting down at the table. He stared morosely at his lap.

"Are you okay?" Jade asked, concerned.

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah, I'm fine," Seto said quickly.

Jade seemed skeptical about this. "Are you not going to eat anything?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm not hungry."

Unsure of what else to say, Jade went back to reading her book. Seto continued to stare at his lap, twiddling his thumbs. Finally, he stood up again and walked out of the cafeteria. There was no specific destination in his mind. He just needed to be alone...

He aimlessly made his way to the elevators. Seto stared at the buttons before pressing the up button. The door opened to reveal the empty shaft. Seto stepped inside and reached his hand out to press the button again. He quickly retracted his hand so that the doors would close.

He was now engulfed in complete darkness, save for the tiny sliver of light that could be seen between the doors. Everything was silent and still. He was alone with only his thoughts. Seto sighed and sat down against the wall, hugging his knees to his chest. He then closed his eyes and leaned his head against his knees. Seto suddenly felt his breathing hitch and his eyes prickle with tears. Seto choked out a sob of shame and misery as he wiped the tears away. It had been years, so why was this still haunting him now? It was all in the past now, he had changed since then...

...right?

His left arm still cradling his knees, he moved his right arm so that his palm was facing upward. It began to glow a bright purple. Seto stared forlornly at the light as an translucent image of a bird popped out of his palm. It hopped around happily before it spread its wings and took flight, soaring in circles up, up, up into the darkness before disappearing out of sight.

Seto watched it go before he closed his hand and let his arms drop to the floor. He leaned his head backwards against the wall and stared up into the vast darkness that seemed to swallow him up. Then he closed his eyes and drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

_Seto?_

_Hey, are you okay man?_

_What the hell are you doing here?_

Seto cracked open his eyelids and squinted against the bright light. He blinked and his vision cleared. Sky, Jason, and Husky were standing in the elevator doorway. "Seto, what happened?" Jason asked, worried. "Why were you in here all by yourself?"

Seto's eyes widened when he realized where he was and why. He quickly fumbled for words. "Nothing- I- I was just-"

"Did someone hurt you?" Husky asked, stepping forward.

Seto instinctively threw his arms in front of his chest. "N-No- I was just... thinking... by myself..."

"About what?" Sky inquired.

"...stuff." Sky offered his hand and Seto grabbed it, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. "Thanks..."

"Do you realize how worried we were?" Jason demanded.

"We thought MonoWither had hurt you or something!" Husky shouted, unintentionally making his voice louder than the situation called for it to be due to his concern.

"S-Sorry guys..." Seto apologized. "I didn't mean to doze off here..."

"Hey, Seto..." Sky said, placing his hands on Seto's shoulders. "...you know that can always talk to us, right?"

Seto didn't meet his eyes but chose to stare at the purple-and-gold amulet that hung around Sky's neck instead. "Yeah. I know."

"No, I'm asking you if you _know_."

Seto glanced up and was surprised to see that Sky's golden eyes, behind his sunglasses, were filled with resolve. "I know," Seto repeated as firmly as possible, but not really meaning it.

"Okay, then I think we should go tell the others," Sky said, leading him out of the elevator shaft.

"The others?" Seto asked, confused.

"Yes, everyone went looking for you!" Husky said exasperatedly. "All 15 of us!"

"We searched everywhere we could think of!" Jason remarked, waving his arms around to emphasize his point.

"Oh," Seto said, embarrassed. "Wait, what time is it?"

"ELEVEN. THIRTY," Jason enunciated.

Seto's eyes widened. "What? Already? But it was around 7:30 when I..." he trailed off.

Suddenly, Mitch, Jerome, and Ryan turned the corner. "I'm telling you," Mitch said, "MonoWither must have done something to him-"

"Oh my god, there you are!" Jerome exclaimed, pointing at Seto. All three of them ran to him.

"Dood, where were you?" Mitch demanded.

"He was in the elevator shaft," Jason explained.

"The fuck were you doing in the shaft?" Ryan asked.

Seto shrugged. "Sleeping."

"Sleeping?" Jerome echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"...yeah?"

"You couldn't do that in your room?" Mitch asked. "Jade seemed pretty worried, she said that you just went off somewhere..."

"I was examining the elevator shaft and I fell asleep," Seto lied.

"...Sure..." Ryan said, not buying a single word.

"Let's just go back to the central hall," Sky said, steering Seto in that direction, "and then we'll tell everyone else that we found him."

Seto was grateful to Sky for ending the conversation.

* * *

After everyone had been told the good news ("You might end up taking my title as the Troll King!" Bodil stated), the mood relaxed considerably. Seto was quite flustered with the amount of attention he was getting, but at the same time he felt strangely happy. They were actually worried about him... They actually cared...

Unfortunately, the mood didn't last long. _"We can't take this anymore!"_ MonoWither declared loudly. Everyone jumped when the black-and-white Wither manifested out of nowhere. "Everyone, head over to the computer room! We've got a surprise for all of you!" And with that, MonoWither disappeared.

Seto felt all the hair on his neck rise with apprehension. Everyone started murmuring to themselves. "What do you think he meant by that?" Jordan asked.

"I don't know..." Steven muttered.

"M-Maybe we shouldn't wait too long..." Seth said, fiddling with his fingers. "He didn't sound too happy..."

"You're right," Tyler said, attempting to hide his nervousness. "I'm sure that it won't be too bad..."

Left with no other choice, the 16 people, along with Bart and Dave, all made their way to the computer room. The door was already open when they got there. "Ugh," MonoWither complained, "We thought things were finally getting exciting when Seto went missing. Honestly! For the love of God, Jade, you _watched_ him walk off by himself and you didn't think, 'Maybe I should grab a knife from the kitchen, follow him, and then stab him in the back'? Maybe even slice his jugular vein? Or even better! _Chop off his head!_ "

Jade looked horrified and appalled. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"We thought you liked horror stuff!"

"That- That's just-"

"Well we guess everyone has different tastes, but the same goes for the rest of you!" MonoWither shouted. "It's been two days and no one has made _any_ plans for murdering another! This show isn't entertaining at all!"

" _You're_ not entertaining at all," Annie muttered.

"If we were you, we'd keep our mouths _shut_!" MonoWither hissed threateningly.

"Well, we're going to get out of here soon!" Ashley declared.

"Yeah!" Jordan shouted. "Someone's going to come rescue us!"

"Oh?" MonoWither said, intrigued. "Where in the world did you get that idea?"

"You're showing this to the public, right?" Bonks asked. "Then they know we're in trouble! The police will come and save us!"

All three of MonoWither's heads burst out laughing. "Wh-What's so funny?" Tyler asked uneasily.

"How foolish. So _that's_ why none of you have made a move yet! You've been clinging onto this foolish hope that the people outside will actually rescue you!"

"Foolish hope?" Seto echoed.

"First of all, how do you know we're recording this _live_?" MonoWither asked. "Second of all, even if the people outside know of your situation, what makes you so certain that they even have the ability to save you?"

These questions pierced through them like arrows. They had been so willing to avoid thinking about their dire situation, they had all eagerly jumped at the chance to come up with a solution to all of their problems.

"Let's just ignore what you said. Why did you want us to come here?" Steven asked.

MonoWither grinned. "We're glad you asked that, Stevie!"

"...Stevie?" Steven asked, an eyebrow raised.

"You see, we were wondering why no one was making a move, but then we thought of all the murder mystery books we've read, and then we realized something! You people need a _motive_!"

"Motive?!" Bodil asked, tugging at his yellow tie with growing agitation. "What do you mean by that?"

"A reason to murder another! A reason to try your hand at ending this show!" Everyone glanced at each other nervously. "All right, participants! Find the laptop with your name taped on it and open the video file that's already there for you to watch! And don't dawdle around! Our patience is running low today!"

Everyone scrambled to find their designated laptop. Seto found his laptop against the left wall. Sky's was right beside him. They looked at each other before putting on their earphones and turning to their screens. Seto moved the mouse cursor over the video file and double-clicked it. The video began to load.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. It was a video recording of a man with golden hair and a black shirt with an image of a gold ingot on it. He was with another man with pink hair and a matching pink shirt. Finally, a third man had long brown hair that covered one of his red eyes. "Brice? Kyle? Ty?" Seto whispered to himself, his eyes widening with shock. The three of them were walking in the park, joking to themselves.

Then Seto saw himself running towards them. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late!" his recorded self said.

Brice laughed. "It's all right, Seto!"

"No it's not!" Kyle said, making an exaggeratedly angry voice. "If you can't take this relationship seriously, Seto, then it's not going to work out! I'm done waiting for you while you go off doing your sorcery things! It's either me or the magic! I can't take this anymore!"

Seto grinned but spoke in a mock-desperate tone. "No, Kyle! You are the love of my life! I will never do sorcery again! You are all I need to be happy!"

Ty snickered. "SetoComics. I ship it."

"Well I'm getting a divorce!" Kyle declared.

"NOOO!" Seto shrieked. "I love you Kyle! Don't leave me!"

Brice wipe an imaginary tear from his eye. "So this is what it's like when your OTP sinks..." he whispered.

The four of them all burst out laughing. The current Seto wanted to laugh too, but he had the dreadful feeling that something was going to go wrong. He thought back to when this video recording had taken place and estimated it to be a few months ago...

That's when MonoWither's voice spoke over the recording. "The Super Duper Minecrafter Level Sorcerer, who is in such a close-knit group of friends..." he said with a gleeful tone that sent chills racing down Seto's spine. He watched the screen with rapt attention, barely able to breathe out of fear. "It's quite obvious how much Seto cares about these dear friends of his! All those memories, all those fun times they've spent together! He must think of them _quite_ fondly!"

Suddenly the screen flickered and Seto gasped. The park was now ablaze. Dancing flames licked across the trees and people were screaming in terror as they fled the disastrous scene. The camera zoomed in to show three bodies hanging from nooses on the branches of a burning tree. Seto screamed in utter horror and covered his mouth with his hands. His heart pounded violently in his chest as he stared at the mangled corpses, all of which had bloody stab wounds. However, the resolution was too low to clearly make out their faces, even if they were wearing the same clothes.

"Oh no!" MonoWither's voice continued. "Something has happened to these precious friends of his! How horrible!" Seto began to hyperventilate as he continued to watch the screen, unable to look away even though he wanted to. "What caused this terrible scene? Who would do this to his treasured friends? When and why did such a grisly, vile event occur?"

The screen went black and five words flashed on the screen in giant letters. "FIND OUT AFTER THE SHOW!"

Seto sat there for a few seconds, his mind struggling to process what he had just watched. Brice...Kyle... Ty... Those dangling bodies... The fire... His hands shook uncontrollably as he closed the video and removed the earbuds from his ears.

That was when he heard Sky forcefully slam the laptop shut. Seto turned to him. "Sky?"

Sky crossed his arms over his chest and breathed erratically, trembling in his seat as he hunched over the table. "N-No-" he whispered to himself, "it- it can't be-"

"AGH!" Bonks shrieked from behind them. She was clutching the sides of her head in her hands.

"What the fuck is this?!" Ryan yelled, his face devoid of color.

"Oh god oh god-! Nononono-!" Annie cried out, pulling at her long brown hair.

"This isn't real, this isn't real..." Bodil murmured repeatedly to himself.

"Why? Why? WHY?!" Husky asked, his eyes wide with fright.

"I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Jason screamed hysterically.

"This isn't real, right?" Jordan asked to no one in particular. "...Right?!"

Mitch slammed his fists against the table and howled in anguish.

Jerome didn't look much better. He unplugged his laptop and quickly pushed it off the table. It landed on the floor with a loud crash.

The only ones who hadn't made an audible reaction were: Ashley (who looked relatively distressed but otherwise seemed all right), Tyler (who was actually grinning an extremely forced smile), Jade (who was trembling violently and biting her lip to the point where it was bleeding), Seth (who, strangely, had an intense look of concentration on his face as he typed something rapidly), and Steven (who was clinging onto Bart and Dave and struggling not to panic).

"Ahahaha!" MonoWither cackled. "That's so much better! The looks on your faces, the horrified reactions! The drama and excitement of it all! It's so wonderful!"

"Shut up, shut up!" Sky yelled, leaping to his feet and knocking the chair out from behind him. He began to storm towards MonoWither, but Seto grabbed his arm to stop him. "Tell me you fucker, are these videos real?!"

MonoWither grinned. "Upupupu! You tell us!"

Sky growled and tried to lunge forward, but Seto's grip was firm. "Sky!" he warned.

"You're going to tell me right now: are these videos real or fake?!" MonoWither merely continued to laugh. "ANSWER ME GODDAMNIT!"

"Find out after the show..." MonoWither said tauntingly.

"It's not real!" Bodil chanted, his accent sounding heavier than usual due to his panic.

"Of course it's not real..." Steven said, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself. "These kinds of effects can easily be the work of animation..."

"Y-Yeah!" Jordan said. "It's all animated! There's no way it's real!"

"Oh, that's right..." Tyler said, laughing in relief. "I didn't even consider it being fake..."

"That's a good prank you pulled there!" Annie said hesitantly. "A very good prank-"

"But how do we _know_ they're not real?" Jason asked. All was silent.

"It doesn't matter..." Jade whispered.

"Huh?" Husky asked.

Jade spoke a little bit louder, but her voice shook. "It doesn't matter at all... whether they're real or not... Because there's nothing we can do about it..." She looked around at the people who were all staring at her and swallowed. "What I saw in my video... was the most horrible thing I ever saw in my life... But there's no way we can leave this place until we're rescued. Killing one another is not an option, because you're all friends!" She forced a nervous smile. "I- I'm not one of you, but I still trust all of you... None of you will ever fall into MonoWither's trap because you're so close... And there's no way you could ever kill your friends..."

She put her hand on her chest and spoke with more conviction. "I have so much faith that you'll all stick together and prove MonoWither wrong. If we all just keep on living this communal life like we have been these past few days, then everyone will be saved! I admire you all so much, I know you guys can do this!"

"...she's right." Sky murmured. "We can't kill each other... There's no way I'd ever sacrifice any of you guys... Even if what I saw in my video was horrible..."

"We just have to stick together and pull through," Bonks said.

"Huh?!" MonoWither exclaimed. "What's with this sudden change of mood?! Just minutes ago, you were all desperate to escape this place!"

"You've underestimated us," Seto declared. "We're stronger than you think we are!"

"Bah! That's the most corny and untrue thing we've ever heard! It makes us sick!" MonoWither gagged. "Come on, don't you want to know what happened to the poor subjects of your videos?"

"We'll find out after we all escape!" Mitch yelled. "Together!"

Suddenly, everyone heard a loud explosion and turned to Seth, whose laptop had exploded. Seth had a look of utter horror on his face. "Well, well, well, look what we have here!" MonoWither said with delight. "Looks like someone broke Show Regulation #5! _'No violence is permitted against the show's hosts, MonoWither!'_ "

Seth stammered nervously. "N-No- I didn't-"

"But the computers are programmed to self-destruct once someone hacks into our system and attempts to input the code that deactivates our program! That qualifies as violence!"

"But I didn't actually succeed!" Seth yelled, trying to justify himself. "So- So it doesn't count!"

"Hey! We're the ones who made the rules! We get to decide what counts as breaking them! This behavior simply cannot be tolerated, Seth! Rules are rules! We didn't want to cause a death ourselves, but we must punish you for this violation..."

"I'm sorry!" Seth pleaded, standing up. He looked around, silently begging for someone, _anyone_ , to help him... But no one had the courage to. All they could do was watch with growing dread. "Please! I swear, I swear I won't do it again!"

"It pains us to say that Seth, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Redstone Mechanic..."

"No, no, no, no!" Seth shrieked.

"...is hereby voted off the show..."

Seth, full-out panicking by now, pushed Jade aside and sprinted to the door. His red cap fell off his head and onto the floor.

"...and will be punished accordingly!"

Seth was one foot away from the door when he stepped on a concealed pressure plate.

-ZAP!-

Seth's body jerked, seized by the strong current of thousands of electrical volts coursing through him all at once. Seth screamed in raw agony as his insides were cooked alive. The acrid smell of burning flesh filled the air as Seth's body began to dance like a flailing puppet on a bunch of tangled strings, dancing one last deranged waltz with Death itself...

It seemed like hours before the buzzing finally stopped. Seth's body bent forward like he was giving his partner one last bow before he collapsed in a smoking heap.

And thus, in a matter of seconds, Death whisked its first partner away.


	7. MonoPoly

"YAAAHOOO!" MonoWither exclaimed, spinning around in the air with jubilation. "THAT WAS A SHOCKER!"

Everyone watched as Seth's smoking body laid there on the floor. Some people were screaming in shock and horror. Others were rooted to the spot, unable to say a word.

Seto ran forward to the still-twitching body and knelt down, grasping Seth's limp arm. He gagged and fought down the urge to vomit when he caught the putrid scent of burning flesh. Seth's body was still warm due to the electrical heat.

The rest of the people crowded around Seth, staring down at the body with horrified silence. Jade stood behind Seto and looked at Seth. "Why?!" the 16-year-old shrieked, burying her face in her hands. "Why, why, why?!"

Seto quickly felt for a pulse. Perhaps there was still a chance... "Teehee!" MonoWither giggled. "Why are you even trying, Seto? There's no way he survived that-"

All of a sudden, Seth coughed weakly as he sputtered back to life.

"What?!" MonoWither exclaimed, their smiles fading. "How is that even-"

"Seth?!" Seto said, gasping in pleasant surprise as he placed a hand under Seth's back and lifted it slightly, resting it on his legs. He cradled Seth's head in his hands. A bubble of hope rose in everyone's hearts as they watched Seth move, albeit slowly. Jade raised her face from her hands and stared at Seth, her eyes wide in disbelief. It was nothing short of a miracle.

"Ggh..." Seth struggled to speak through the random convulsions that wracked his body.

"Stay with us!" Jordan pleaded, kneeling down beside Seth and grabbing his hand tightly. "Come on, just hang in there! You can do this!"

"I..." Seth coughed and spluttered, staring up at Seto. "I- I- I'm... s-s-s-o-o-o-r-r-r-y-y-y..."

"No, it's okay! Just don't leave us!" Tyler begged. "Please Seth!"

"I... re... mem... ber... ev... ery... thing..." Seth mumbled breathlessly. His eyes were wild and frantic, as though it was imperative that he say these words before his final moments.

"Remember what?" Seto asked, realizing that the miracle wasn't going to last much longer...

"H-H-Hen..." Seth uttered weakly, his lungs rattling in his chest as he inhaled. His voice was a mere whisper now and Seto struggled to catch what he was saying. "Hen... is... jay..."

"What?" Seto asked. "What did you say?"

Seth lifted his trembling finger and pointed at Seto's head. "Hen...'s... jay..." Seth took one last shuddering breath and his finger dropped to the floor. He went completely still and his dark, vacant eyes widened, as though in his final moments he had seen something vastly beyond what the living could see...

"Seth? SETH!" Jordan yelled, shaking the body, but there was no response. "NO! COME BACK!" Sobbing, he laid his head on Seth's chest.

Seto desperately felt for a pulse in Seth's neck, searching for _any_ sign that Seth was still alive somewhere, but there was none.

"Seto?" Sky whispered. Seto looked up and realized that there were tears running down Sky's cheeks. "Is... he really...?" He couldn't bring himself to say the word "dead". Seto bit his lip and closed his eyes, bowing his head in sorrow. His lack of a reply said it all. "N-No..." Sky stammered, taking a few steps back.

It slowly dawned on everyone that Seth, their friend who had been alive just a few seconds ago, was now a lifeless corpse. "Oh god...!" Annie shrieked, covering her mouth with her hands.

Jade emitted a loud wail and buried her face in her hands once again.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Ryan yelled at MonoWither, completely pale. "Why would you kill him?!"

"Because he broke the rules!" MonoWither replied, their smiles even larger than before. "And a simple electric chair is too boring for a reality TV show... This kind of capital punishment needs to be extreme! Exciting! SHOCKING!"

"You're fucking _sick_!" Jordan shouted, tears running down his cheeks as he balled his hands into fists. "Seth didn't deserve that at all!"

"Aw, don't any of you appreciate the irony that the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Redstone Mechanic was offed by the usage of a pressure plate carefully calibrated to react to Seth's specific weight?!" MonoWither asked. "Anybody?"

"You've had your fun, okay?!" Jason yelled, shaking where he stood. "Now p-please let us out!"

"Before any murders have been committed? This is only a mere fraction of the fun that's about to commence!"

"You've already killed one of us!" Mitch shouted, instinctively standing protectively in front of Jerome as though the bacca was going to be MonoWither's next target (again). "What more do you want?!"

MonoWither cackled. "AHAHAHA! This Wither isn't quite satisfied yet!"

"What are you getting out of this?!" Steven demanded fearfully.

"What are we getting? Well... Since one of you has actually kicked the bucket..." MonoWither's three red eyes gleamed. "Now you know just how serious we are about these rules... Clearly Jerome's near-death wasn't enough..."

"But why are you doing this to us?!" Jerome asked desperately.

"Why? Because it's fun and the audience is going to love it!"

"...I'm absolutely done listening to your bullshit." Ashley growled before she tried to lunge at MonoWither. She was held back by Annie and Bodil.

"Woah, that was a close one, Ashley!" MonoWither noted. "You almost broke the same rule that Seth broke! Didn't Seth's death teach you anything?"

"How can you talk about Seth so casually?!" Tyler asked, repulsed.

"Ugh, stop asking all these irrelevant questions! He broke the rules, we punished him for it. That's all there is to it! Oh! And speaking of breaking the rules... SETO!" Seto jumped at the sound of his name being yelled and turned to MonoWither. "You also broke a rule!"

All the blood drained from Seto's face and his eyes widened. "Wh-What?!"

"Rule Number 3: Sleeping is only permitted in the personal rooms prepared for you in the filming area. Anyone intentionally falling asleep elsewhere will be punished," MonoWither recited. "You fell asleep in the elevator shaft and thus violated the rule! And you know what that means..."

Everyone reacted with panic. "No!" Bodil shrieked in desperation. "Not Seto too!"

Bonks was close to having a anxiety attack. "You can't!"

"You already killed Seth!" Husky screamed hysterically.

"Rules are rules! What kind of hosts would we be if we didn't enforce them properly?!"

Sky immediately pulled Seto up and stood in front of him protectively. "Not on my watch..." Sky hissed. "If you want to get to him, you'll have to go through _me_ first!"

"If we were you, Sky, we'd stay out of this! After all, you'd be no good to your family _dead_!" Sky's eyes widened but he kept his stance.

"I- I didn't violate the rule!" Seto said as he struggled to defend himself and come up with a proper justification. He stared at Seth's body, which was still lying unceremoniously on the floor, and realized that this could very well be him soon if he didn't act fast...

"Is that so?" MonoWither asked, tilting their three heads to the side. "Explain yourself..."

Seto thought rapidly. _"Rule Number 3: Sleeping is only permitted in the personal rooms prepared for you in the filming area. Anyone **intentionally falling asleep** elsewhere will be punished. You fell asleep in the elevator shaft and thus **violated the rule**!"_

Something clicked in Seto's mind. Intentionally? No, that was wrong!

 **> >>— _INTENTIONALLY-FALLING-ASLEEP_ —>** **(( _VIOLATED THE RULE_ ))**

"No, I didn't violate the rule... Because I didn't fall asleep _intentionally_!" Seto argued, attempting to keep his voice steady. "I really just wanted to be alone, but I ended up falling asleep _by accident_ because I didn't get much sleep last night! So I didn't break the rule!"

"Hmm... _Hmm_..." MonoWither thought aloud.

"Please listen to him..." Jade whispered.

"By a popular vote of three, we will see whether your argument is valid..." MonoWither paused for a moment before cackling. "I see, I see! Here is your verdict! Two out of the three of us..." Everyone held their breath as they waited. MonoWither delayed the announcement to savor the pleading, desperate look on Seto's face. "...voted you _not_ guilty of violating Show Regulation #3!"

Everyone sighed in relief. "Count yourself lucky, Seto!" MonoWither said. "Our dark side wanted you dead!" The black head proceeded to open its fanged mouth and release a beastly, glitchy-sounding growl that made Seto flinch. "But in the end we decided that keeping you alive would provide more entertainment for the audience!"

Seto's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"That doesn't matter! Just be glad that you're still alive, unlike Seth! As for everyone else: Remember what you saw in these videos! Think about it real hard!" MonoWither laughed. "I can't wait to see who will break first..." And with that, MonoWither disappeared.

Sky had his hands balled into fists. "That... bastard..." he hissed.

Bart walked over and knelt beside Seth's body. The Enderman picked the corpse up and placed him on the nearby table. Steven slowly closed Seth's eyes so that it looked like he was merely sleeping peacefully. Bonks grabbed Seth's red hat from the floor and gave it to Bodil, who placed it on Seth's chest. Annie moved his hands so that they were laid over the hat.

Everyone stood there, solemnly mourning the passing of their friend. It wasn't a proper funeral, but it would have to do.

"He was so smart..." Jordan said, smiling through his tears as he reminisced about the memories. "He always had some new invention to show me..."

"He loved building stuff..." Annie said quietly.

"I remember he said that he wanted to build something that would help the world..." Husky said.

"Seth was trying to save all of us..." Jerome said, trying to honor what Seth had done.

"And MonoWither killed him for it..." Ashley murmured.

"The world... lost a valuable person today..." Jason said, bowing his head.

Jade, unable to take everything, suddenly burst into tears and ran out of the room.

Slowly, one by one, they all filed out of the computer room and went their separate ways.

* * *

It was 3 in the afternoon now. No one had the stomach to eat lunch. Most people just went back to their rooms to think about all that had transpired. Seto laid on his bed, staring listlessly at the ceiling. Seth's screams of agony and the loud buzzing sounds as the electricity fried his insides echoed in his mind. He shut his eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

It had been so long since he'd seen someone die.

_"Hen... is... jay..."_

_"Hen...'s... jay..."_

What in the world had Seth meant by that? Hens and jays were both birds, but what did birds have to do with anything?

Maybe Seto was just overthinking things. After all, it was very likely that Seth had been delirious by then, and wasn't thinking straight at all. But for some reason, he couldn't get those dying words out of his mind...

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Seto got up wearily and opened it. "Sky?"

Sky looked perplexed about something. "I... I went back to my room and I realized that my golden sword wasn't there anymore. It doesn't make sense, I mean, I locked my door and everything..."

"What? Are you sure you didn't leave it somewhere?"

Sky nodded. "I'm positive I left it on my table this morning. Do you think someone stole it?"

"W-Why would anyone steal your sword?" Seto asked nervously. They both knew why though. "Well... Maybe we should ask the others if they've seen it somewhere..."

"Good idea."

"Let's start with Mitch and Jerome first, since they also brought weapons here," Seto suggested.

They walked down the hallway when all of a sudden Sky stopped and turned to look at something on the wall. Seto stopped as well and gasped. Seth's nameplate now had a crimson "X" painted over it. "That... That monster..." Sky whispered.

Seto grabbed his shoulder and steered him away. He knocked on Mitch's door, but there was no reply. He knocked again, but this time harder. Still no response. "Maybe he's in Jerome's room?" Sky suggested.

Seto knocked on Jerome's door. A few seconds later, Jerome opened it. "Hey..." the bacca greeted, stepping to the side so they could walk in. Mitch, who was sitting on the bed, waved halfheartedly at them. Jerome sat back down next to him, both of their expressions heavy.

Sky and Seto sat down on chairs. "Are your weapons gone?" Sky asked.

Mitch raised his eyebrows. "How did you know?"

"My diamond axe, Mitch's diamond sword, and his bow and arrows all went missing," Jerome explained.

"My sword's missing too," Sky said.

Mitch and Jerome looked at each other, trying to figure out what this all meant.

"When did you find out they were missing?" Seto asked.

"When we went back to our rooms," Jerome replied.

"Same here..." Sky said, rubbing his amulet absentmindedly.

"It can't be a coincidence, so it pretty much confirms that someone actually broke into our rooms and stole them," Mitch said.

"But when? And how?" Jerome asked. "The last time we saw them was this morning. The only time someone could have stole them was during breakfast and when we were looking for Seto. But even then, we locked our rooms..." No one could think of any answers.

"...I hate to say it, but... maybe we should ask MonoWither..." Seto suggested reluctantly. "He probably knows what happened to them..."

Mitch visibly paled. "I-I'd rather not, especially after he-"

_"You called?!"_

Jerome flinched the moment he saw MonoWither appear and Mitch instinctively grabbed the bacca's arm. Sky clenched his fists. Seto sighed loudly. "Yes, I did."

"Oh! This is so wonderful! Seto-senpai actually noticed us!" MonoWither exclaimed ecstatically, spinning around in circles. "What does Seto-sama want from us?!"

Seto gestured to Sky, Jerome, and Mitch. "What happened to their weapons?"

"...What if we said that we didn't know?"

"Then you'd be a liar as well as a murderer," Seto said tersely, speaking through his teeth.

"Aw, you got us... Hmm, maybe it's best if we make this an announcement..." Suddenly the speakers turned on. "Hello, remaining Super Duper Minecrafter participants! This is an announcement for the 15 of you!" Mitch grit his teeth and growled in anger at the emphasis of "remaining" and "15". "If any of you brought weapons with you upon your arrival, they have all been confiscated by yours truly! Why? Because if we didn't, then you would have an unfair advantage over the others! But don't fret; killing items are sold at the MonoWither Shop near the computer room! Some of you may have already started collecting WitherCoins, which you can find hidden in all sorts of places! Use them to buy whatever tools you need for a proper murder. That's all for now! You may resume your murder planning!"

" _That's_ why you took our weapons?!" Jerome asked. "Because of 'unfair advantages'?!"

"Yep!" MonoWither said happily. "But don't worry. You'll get them back once you end the show! Oh dear, but Seto still has the upper hand over everyone else..."

Seto looked confused. "What?"

"After all, you're the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Sorcerer! We can't take away your powers... Maybe we _should_ have punished you after all..." MonoWither turned to the rest of the four. "Perhaps you should all keep your distance! You never know what he might be thinking inside that pretty little head of his!" The black-and-white Wither turned to Seto, their red eyes gleaming. "Or what dark, terrible secrets he might be keeping..."

Seto shuddered when he saw MonoWither's smiles widen, as though they _did_ know his secret. But there was no way they actually knew, right? MonoWither was probably just joking around in their own sick, twisted way again...

"Seto would never kill anyone," Sky said, glaring at MonoWither. "None of us will."

MonoWither giggled. "Puhuhu... Keep on believing that..." the middle head said, before they all disappeared.

"I wish we _had_ destroyed that thing..." Mitch murmured. Suddenly Jerome's face turned melancholy and he lowered his head. Mitch noticed and looked concerned. "Jerome?"

Jerome fidgeted with his paws. "If- If I hadn't gotten poisoned back then... do you think we could have defeated MonoWither... and Seth wouldn't have..."

"Jerome!" Mitch said, grabbing his shoulders. "I told you to stop thinking that!"

"It's not your fault at all, Jerome," Sky said. "It's MonoWither's. They're the one who trapped us here in the first place."

"That, and I'm pretty sure that whoever is controlling MonoWither has spares," Seto pointed out.

"...What makes you say that?" Jerome asked.

"Because it'd be too easy for someone to just sneak up behind MonoWither and just smash him with something. MonoWither is a machine, not a living creature, after all. If someone tried destroying it, and the controller didn't have a spare, then everything would go down the drain."

"I'm still trying to understand why someone would trap us here and make us kill each other..." Sky said.

"There are crazy, sadistic people everywhere. Sometimes they just can't be explained," Mitch said. "If I ever meet this guy, he's going to be in for a world of pain, trust me."

"I'm just worried about how we're supposed to get out of here..." Jerome admitted.

"We wait," Seto said. "We wait until we're rescued or we find an opportunity to escape this place, with or without confronting MonoWither."

Sky nodded. "That's our best bet. We have no proof those videos are real in the first place."

Jerome stared at the floor gloomily. "If... If you say so..."

No one noticed as Mitch reached into his pocket and felt for the dozen or so WitherCoins he had collected so far. His amber eyes hardened.

* * *

Seto entered the cafeteria to grab a quick bite when he saw Jade sitting at the tables. She was shuffling a deck of poker cards, shuffling them over and over again, as she stared at the table with a blank expression. The cards seemed be in sync with her hand movements as she shuffled them repeatedly in all sorts of ways.

Seto was about to ask her if she was okay but then realized what a stupid question that would be. Of course she wasn't okay. No one was okay. After all that had happened just that afternoon... Seth... Those videos...

Seto sat down in the seat in front of her. "Why do you have cards?" Seto asked, hoping to temporarily take her mind off the traumatic experiences.

Jade squared the deck in her hands. "I'm part of the magic club at school," she said quietly. "I bring my cards everywhere. I'm not really good at actually doing the tricks, though. I usually mess it up somehow." She spread the cards faceup on the table in one neat row. Her voice was almost monotone. "Every shuffle creates a different order. The number of different orders of a card deck is 52 factorial. The likelihood that you will ever, in your entire life, encounter the same order by randomly shuffling is extremely unlikely." She brought the cards together and squared them again. "Sometimes... I think that Fate is a card player, always shuffling the deck of our lives... And we can't control what order we get. We just have to go with what we have..."

Then Jade shook her head and blinked rapidly, looking at Seto as though she had just realized that he was there. "I- I'm sorry, I don't know why I said all that-"

"-it's all right," Seto said.

Jade stared at her lap. "Why do you think that Fate, or whoever's up there, would let Seth come back to life, only to end it again?"

"...I don't know," Seto admitted.

"It's just too cruel... But then again, the world's always been a cruel place, right? I think the hardest part about being a writer is describing all the goodness, the badness, and all the stuff in between..." The 16-year-old put the deck down on the table and paused to collect her thoughts. "Seto, will we ever get out of this place?"

"I'm sure we will..." Seto said hesitantly. Then he tried to sound more confident. "Yes, we will get out of here. We just have to think positively! The people outside will come rescue us eventually."

"And... if they don't?"

"If the people outside can't help us, then we'll just have to find a way to escape ourselves."

Jade thought about this for awhile before smiling slightly. "You're right. We just have to keep on working together."

_"Oh no, Seto!"_

Seto and Jade jumped as they turned to face the black-and-white Wither. "What the hell are you doing here?!" Seto demanded.

"Y- Your magic wand!" MonoWither said, panicking.

"His what?" Jade asked, bewildered.

"His magic wand! I can see it! It's rising! It's growing bigger and bigger! It looks like it's about to burst!"

Jade looked extremely uncomfortable and Seto turned an angry shade of red. "The fuck is wrong with you?!" he yelled, disgusted.

"You should be asking yourself that! After all, Jade's underage and you're in your 20s!"

"Get out of here! Stop saying perverted stuff!"

"I'm just saying that such inappropriate behavior is unacceptable for TV! Please keep all romantic pursuits PG-rated!"

Jade shifted awkwardly and Seto had the urge to blast MonoWither to smithereens. He was fuming by now. "Just go away and leave us alone!"

"Okay fine, but I just wanted to remind you that Night Time is in half an hour! You wouldn't want to be locked in here for the whole night without being able to sleep, now would you? Sleeping would be breaking the rules, and I don't think you could talk your way out of that..." MonoWither grinned and disappeared.

"He manages to aggravate me every time somehow," Seto said, clenching his fist.

"He scares me," Jade admitted. "Well, actually, the person controlling him scares me. I mean, those videos..." She looked at Seto. "...You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but what did you see in your video?"

Seto shivered. "Brice, Kyle, and Ty... They were dead..." He decided to spare her the gory details.

They suddenly heard a loud crashing sound and turned to see Sky in the kitchen.

Seto immediately ran over to him. "Sky, what happened?"

Sky's arms were crossed over his chest as he stood over a shattered plate on the floor, shivering. His reply was hushed. "N-Nothing, I just... heard what you said... about your video..."

"...Oh..."

Sky forced a grim smile. "It's okay. Those videos aren't real anyway. There's no way."

He knelt down to pick up the shards, but Seto raised his hand. "It's all right, I got this." With a sweep of his hand, all the pieces levitated in the air. Seto moved the pieces over to the trash can and dropped them in.

"Thanks Seto," Sky said, placing his hands in his pockets. "You didn't have to."

Seto shrugged. "It was no problem."

"You know, I don't think I was hungry in the first place..." Sky said.

"...Sky... What did you see in your video?" Seto asked tentatively.

Sky stared at the wall and fidgeted with his amulet. "...I don't want to talk about it."

"All right."

Sky yawned. "I'm actually pretty tired right..."

Seto realized how hard it was for him to keep his eyes open. "Yeah, same... It's almost Night Time anyway."

They walked out of the kitchen. Seto noticed that Jade had left the cafeteria, probably to go back to her room as well. They made their way into the hallway with their personal rooms. "Well, good night," Sky said. "See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Sky," Seto said as he entered his room and shut the door.

Seto removed his cloak and laid on the bed. It was unnerving to him just how well he was adapting to living in this place.

_"You see, Seto, you and I are different from the rest of the world. We're the strong ones, the ones that will survive and outlast the weak..."_

Seto involuntarily punched his other arm and inhaled sharply. Why in the world was he thinking about that now? He didn't want to remember _him_...

The day had been emotionally exhausting for him. He closed his eyes as he drifted off into an uneasy sleep full of nightmares.

* * *

**MONOWITHER THEATER**

**The first person to survive a botched execution by electrocution was Willie Francis, who killed a pharmacy owner. He was 17 when he was deemed guilty of murder and sentenced to capital punishment. However, the executioners drank a little too much that night, and when they strapped the boy in and turned on the juice, the boy didn't die! He kept screaming, "Take it off! Take it off! I can't breathe!" I bet he had the total shock of his life! They claimed that it was a miracle that he survived!**

**They finally tried executing him again a year later. He sure didn't survive that time!**

**It just goes to show that there's no escaping one's punishment...**


	8. Heads or Tails

_Seth was flailing about, his screams an endless melody of torturous pain. The electricity coursed through his whole body as it shook violently._

_Seto wanted to scream as well, but he couldn't make a sound._

_Seth wouldn't stop writhing on the spot. He was a ragdoll, a lifeless puppet, being forced to dance..._

_Monowither's giddy peals of laughter could be heard, echoing loudly._

_"Isn't it beautiful when you watch a man die?" a familiar man's voice said. 'Their final struggles, their life extinguished in one instant... And it's best when the one who ends their life is yourself..."_

No...

_Seth was lying on the floor, his skin burnt and sizzling. "Hen's... jay..." Seth's jumbled voice said._

Stop...

_"We're the strong ones... The ones that will survive and outlast the weak..."_

Please stop...

_"Hen's jay..."_

Stop this already...

_"Hen's jay..."_

_"Hen's jay..."_

_"Hen's jay-"_

"STOP!" Seto shrieked as he jolted awake. He gasped for breath as his heart pounded against his ribs. He was curled up in a tense fetal position and his fingernails were digging into his elbows, scratching the skin. Seto trembled as he let go of his arms and relaxed his muscles slightly. Keeping his breathing as steady as possible, Seto looked at the clock and noticed that it was exactly 5:30 in the morning.

The man who'd spoken in his dream used to make him wake up at that same time.

Seto began to laugh uncontrollably under his breath, a laugh that wouldn't stop even though he didn't feel happy at all. _You're insane._ He covered his mouth with his hand and shut his eyes tightly at the laughter turned to heartwrenching sobs. He clenched the bed sheets as he squeezed out the tears.

He hadn't thought of his past for years. He could only think of one reason why all those awful memories were haunting him again.

This place was slowly driving him mad.

* * *

Seto could not go back to sleep (he didn't want to because he feared that more nightmares were awaiting him), so he put on his cloak and left his room. He entered the central hall and made his way to the cafeteria, but saw that there was a large steel gate blocking it off. _Oh right, it's still Night Time._

Unsure of where to go next, he made his way back to the central hall. Suddenly, he heard someone say, "Seto?"

Startled, Seto whirled around to see Steven and Bart. "What the- What are you doing here?"

"Dave's missing," Steven said, his voice slightly frantic. "Did you see him anywhere?"

"No, I didn't."

Steven wrung his hands nervously. "Bart woke me up earlier because he noticed that Dave wasn't in our room."

"He wasn't? He just left in the middle of the night?"

"Yes! But I can't think of any reason why he'd leave, unless... unless MonoWither..." Bart patted Steven's head to try and calm him down.

"Don't worry," Seto said. "I'm pretty sure that MonoWither wouldn't do anything to him."

"But- But Dave's not a participant, and MonoWither said that if he wanted, he could kill him at any time-"

"Steven, we need to remain calm," Seto said. "Panicking won't help us find Dave, okay?" Steven swallowed and nodded. "Where have you looked for him so far?"

"The- The main hall, the conference room, the area by the stairs..."

"Um, have you checked the bathrooms?

Steven shook his head. "That's where we were heading."

"Let's go, then."

They found the bathrooms and went into the men's room, since the e-Handbooks prevented them from entering the women's room. Attempting to use a woman's e-Handbook would result, according to MonoWither, in getting turned into Swiss cheese with a Gatling gun. No one wanted to test this claim out for themselves. "Dave!" Steven called out as he and Seto opened each stall. They found no one. "Where else could he be?" Steven asked, eyes wide with anxiety.

Seto thought for a moment. "There's the computer room and the shop..." he said finally.

Without a second thought, Steven and Bart raced over in that direction and Seto struggled to catch up. Steven used his e-Handbook to open the door and ran inside, looking through each of the rows to see if Dave was hiding somewhere for whatever reason. Bart teleported around and shook his head. Dave wasn't there.

Seto stared at the table where Seth's body had lain the day before. It was gone now.

"Come on, Seto," Steven said hurriedly, "we need to check the shop." Seto nodded and followed the two.

Steven opened the door and let out a shriek of horror. "What? What happened?!" Seto asked, running inside.

Steven stared at all the weapons on display. "Th- Th- This is the shop?"

Seto realized that not everyone had actually seen the shop for themselves. "Yeah. This is the shop."

"This is worse than I imagined..." Steven whispered.

Seto sighed. "I know. And since we're in here, MonoWither's probably on his way right now."

Right on cue, MonoWither emerged from behind the counter. "Hello, customers!" the middle head said excitedly. "What would you like to buy today? Nooses? Swords?"

"Where's Dave?" Steven demanded.

"Waste? We're afraid we don't sell that here!"

Steven trembled with fury. "I know you know where Dave is, so tell me!"

"Oh geez, relax, take a chill pill! Waste's just in the rightful place where he belongs..." MonoWither grinned ominously.

Steven's eyes widened in absolute fear before he suddenly lunged at MonoWither, reaching his arms out as if to crush the machine with his bare hands. Bart grabbed the back of his shirt to hold him back. "I SWEAR, IF YOU'VE HURT HIM I'LL-"

"Steven, calm down!" Seto yelled. "Dave's near the trash room, that's what he meant!"

Steven stopped and continued to glare at MonoWither. "Is this true?"

"Aw, you caught our hidden meaning, Seto!" MonoWither complained. "We guess great minds really _do_ think alike!"

Seto clenched his teeth and said nothing. Steven relaxed slightly but still looked angry. "Don't call Dave 'waste' again, you hear me?" he threatened.

"Well you can buy our silence. Permanently. For 8000 WitherCoins a month-" The three of them left the shop and Bart gave MonoWither one last death stare before slamming the door shut. MonoWither's three heads hissed in annoyance. "Excuse us, that is just rude!"

* * *

They made their way over to the trash room area and stopped in front of the entrance to the basement once they saw someone in the hallway. Sure enough, it was Dave who was walking aimlessly around, his arms outstretched. A black blindfold had been tied around his head and was covering his eyes. It seemed that Dave didn't know how to take it off.

The white-shirted zombie, while trying to find his way out of the hallway, promptly bumped into the wall and fell over. Bart quickly teleported over to Dave and picked him up before removing the blindfold. Dave blinked rapidly before looking around, bewildered.

"DAVE!" Steven yelled as he ran to the zombie and hugged him tightly. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

Bart, still holding the blindfold, held it up and squinted at it suspiciously. He then gave it to Seto. Seto grasped the torn piece of fabric, wondering why someone would blindfold Dave in the first place.

"Who did this to you?" Steven asked, worried. "Did you see them? Was it MonoWither?" Dave, still looking overwhelmed by everything, shook his head quickly. "Did they hurt you at all?" Dave shook his head again.

Seto concentrated as he tried to figure everything out.

"Wait, where are all your WitherCoins?" Steven questioned. "Did they fall out again?" Dave continued to shake his head frantically. "Then what happened to them?" Same response. Even Seto, who wasn't the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Mob Observer, could tell that the zombie was afraid of letting Steven know what had happened to him for some strange reason.

Steven placed his hands on Dave's shoulders. "Dave, why won't you tell me what happened? You're scaring me."

Seto stared at Dave and noticed something. "There's a piece of paper sticking out of his pocket..."

The moment Seto said this, Dave backed away from Steven before attempting to run, but he didn't get far before Bart teleported in his path. He crashed into Bart, who immediately snatched the paper from his pocket and unfolded it. Dave tried to take it back, but being a zombie, his movements were limited. Bart was taller than him anyway. Bart read the paper before handing it over to Steven. He and Seto examined the contents.

_At 12:00 midnight, go in front of the trash room. Do not let anyone else know of this if you value Steven's safety._

It was not signed. "Is... Is this why you didn't want to tell me what happened?" Steven asked. "Because you were afraid the person was going to hurt me?"

Dave's lack of a response answered everything.

Steven looked at Seto, confused. Seto thought carefully, attempting to put all the pieces together. "The Withercoins," he suddenly realized.

"Huh?"

"They were after his WitherCoins." Seto turned to Dave. "The person took them from you, didn't they?"

Dave looked up at Bart for reassurance before nodding reluctantly.

"So at midnight, Dave did what the letter said and went to the trash room. He probably went down this hallway..." Seto said.

"...Is that when the person blindfolded you?" Steven asked Dave, who still looked afraid. "Did they sneak up behind you and take you by surprise?"

Dave nodded again.

"And then they took his WitherCoins and just left him here," Seto concluded.

"But why Dave?" Steven asked. "Why would they want _his_ WitherCoins so badly?"

Seto paused to think. "Because he had what, 34? Probably even more by the time he got the letter."

"38 last time we checked."

"Yeah, that's a lot, I don't think anyone else has that many. I only have 7, for one thing... I wonder how the person knew Dave had so many though."

"Well, Dave spilled his coins everywhere, so I think a lot of people knew," Steven replied. "But what would they need those coins for?"

Seto tried to think of some other explanation, but could not. He sighed. "You saw that shop, Steven. You know why."

Steven looked horrified. "I- I honestly can't believe that someone would actually want to try and..." he lowered his voice, "...kill someone..."

"I know, I can't believe it either," Seto replied gravely. "But there's no other reason for why someone would want to steal WitherCoins. And there's also those videos MonoWither showed us, the 'motive'..."

Steven winced at the reminder. "You're right."

"But if we can catch that person, then everything will be fine."

Steven turned to Dave. "You're sure that you didn't see the person at all? You didn't recognize their voice?"

Dave shook his head.

"Well we have two clues," Seto said. "This blindfold and the letter. If we can figure out where these came from, then we'll have our culprit."

**DING DONG, DING DONG**

Everyone jumped (except for Bart) when they heard the alarm.

**Good morning, bastards! It's 7 in the morning! Time to wake up!**

**Let's all strive to have fun and entertain the audience today!**

"I guess we should head back to the cafeteria and wait for everyone," Steven said.

Seto nodded in agreement. As they left the trash room area, Steven grasped Dave's arm tightly and Bart placed his hand on the zombie's other shoulder. Seto mentally noted that it was an odd trio, but an undeniably close one. He wondered how they even met in the first place, but decided that that was a topic for some other time.

* * *

It turned out that Bonks was already in the cafeteria, surprisingly. She was usually the last person awake. Standing by a table, she gave them weird looks when she saw them enter. "Uh, hi..." she said hesitantly. "Why are you guys up so early?"

"I could ask the same thing about you," Steven remarked.

"To be honest, I didn't get much sleep last night," Bonks admitted. "I don't think I got any at all."

"What were you doing?" Seto asked.

"...Drawing..."

"Okay, and what are you doing now?"

Bonks was propping a picture frame on one of the tables. "I- Um- I-" she stammered, attempting to hide the picture with her body. "It's the drawing I was working on yesterday..."

"Can we see it?" Steven asked.

The Super Duper Minecrafter Artist sighed. "Yeah, you can. That's why I put it here in the first place." She moved aside and let them see it.

Seto's eyes widened. It was a detailed drawing of Seth tinkering around with a bunch of redstone cords. Seth had a grin on his face, a grin that they all recognized immediately. It was so lifelike, Seto thought it was actually a photograph at first.

The humanoid orchid mantis tapped her index fingers together and stared at her feet. "Um... I wanted to make a memorial... in honor of Seth..." She looked up at them with her pink eyes. "What do you think?"

Steven blinked rapidly and wiped his eyes. "I think he'd like it," he said.

Seto nodded, moved by the whole thing. "Yeah, he would."

Bonks smiled sadly. "I'm glad you think so..."

Suddenly Jordan walked in, his dark hair an unkempt mess. His eyes had dark spots underneath them. He stopped the moment he saw the group standing there. "Oh, I thought I was the first one up," he said. "I guess I was wrong. What are you all looking at?" Then he saw the propped picture and his eyes widened. "Is... that..."

"It's a memorial for Seth," Steven explained.

"...I see," Jordan said, staring at the picture solemnly.

Jade was the next one to enter. She stared at the memorial for a few moments before saying tentatively, "Um, no offense, but I think it's missing something..."

"What do you mean?" Bonks asked.

"It needs flowers or candles." Jade looked up and touched the white begonia that was clipped on her hair. "I'd give mine, but this is fake. Maybe we could do something about candles though..."

Bart suddenly teleported into the kitchen, grabbed two torches, and teleported back. The Enderman placed one burning torch on both sides of the picture stand. The light shone brightly, illuminating the picture. They weren't exactly candles, but they would have to do.

Now it looked more like a proper memorial. Seto stared at the picture before suddenly remembering the way Seth's body had gone limp in his arms...

He shivered and looked away, ashamed.

* * *

When everyone had woken up, entered the cafeteria, and paid their respects to the makeshift memorial, Seto and Steven decided that it was time to tell them about what had happened this morning. "Um, everybody?" Seto called out, standing up. The cafeteria went silent as they all diverted their attention to the sorcerer. "Steven and I have something to say."

Steven nodded. "This morning, at around 5:15, Bart woke up because he noticed that Dave was missing. He wasn't in our room. Bart and I went looking for him and we got Seto to help too. We eventually found Dave by the trash room, blindfolded, and with all his WitherCoins stolen."

Murmurs of confusion broke out. "Stolen?" Husky asked. "Are you sure he didn't just lose them somewhere?"

Steven nodded. "We're sure. Also, someone gave him this letter sometime yesterday." He held up the paper and read it aloud. " _At 12:00 midnight, go in front of the trash room. Do not let anyone else know of this if you value Steven's safety_." Steven lowered the note. "Whoever sent Dave this letter waited for Dave to walk past, snuck up behind him, and blindfolded him before stealing all his WitherCoins."

"But why?" Tyler asked. "Why would anyone do that?"

"It- It's not like anyone would be thinking about buying something from MonoWither's Shop..." Bodil said anxiously, "...Right?"

There was silence. "Sorry Bodil," Seto said reluctantly, "but that's the only reason why someone would steal WitherCoins."

Ashley cut in. "So what you're saying is, someone here is already planning on killing someone else."

Seto nodded. "Exactly."

"No..." Jade whispered. "That can't be right..."

"What do you mean?" Seto asked.

"Someone... planning on killing someone else? I won't believe it!" Jade shrieked. "There's just no way!"

"Do you have any other explanation?" Steven asked quietly.

Jade's face fell and she went silent.

Sky looked nervous. "So... do you know who stole from Dave?"

"Not really, since pretty much anybody except for Steven could have done it during Night Time," Seto replied. "But we do have some clues." He held up the black blindfold and the letter. "If we can trace these back to whoever made them, then we'll have our culprit. Any ideas?"

They mused over the clues for a few moments. "First of all," Jason said, "you said that you realized Dave was gone at around 5:15." Steven nodded in affirmation. "But the letter said to go to the trash room at 12:00. Why was Dave there for 5 hours?"

"He couldn't find his way back. He didn't know how to get the blindfold off and his sense of direction is... lacking," Steven replied, for lack of a better word.

"I got it!" Mitch said suddenly, smacking the table with his fists.

Everyone jumped in surprise. "Why do you do that all the time, Mitch?!" Jerome yelled.

"Sorry," Mitch said, grinning sheepishly. "But anyway, here's what I think: the culprit didn't want anyone else to know that Dave had his WitherCoins stolen, because that would arouse suspicion, so they threatened to hurt Steven in the letter so that Dave would keep everything a secret. But the culprit probably thought that Dave would go back to Steven's room and act like nothing happened. They didn't expect that Dave wouldn't be able to find his way back and just stay there. So when Steven found Dave, the secret was out."

"Wow Mitch, that was actually pretty smart, coming from you," Ryan said cheekily.

"Why thank you- Hey!" Mitch glared at Ryan in indignation.

"I think that's right," Seto said, nodding his head in agreement. Then his eyes widened. "N-Not what Ryan said! What Mitch said! Anyway, does anyone have any objections?" There were none.

"Okay, so we know what the culprit's plan was supposed to be, but then who's the culprit?" Annie asked.

"We can rule out Steven for sure," Husky said, thinking carefully, "but that still leaves fif- I mean, fourteen suspects."

"Mitch and I were in my room, actually," Jerome said. "So we can confirm each other's alibis."

"Yeah, but for all we know, you two could have worked together," Sky said hesitantly. "I'm not saying that you did, but..."

"Oh... Right..."

No one questioned the fact that Mitch and Jerome had stayed in one room for the night.

"So basically no one else can confirm their alibis, because the thief might be working with someone?" Tyler stated.

"Yeah, seems like it," Sky replied, sighing.

"Any other ideas?" Seto asked.

"Where did they get the fabric for the blindfold?" Bonks suddenly asked.

A light went on in Bodil's head. "Oh yeah, and how did they cut it?"

Seto held up the black blindfold for everyone to see. "Hmm..." Ryan said thoughtfully. "If you look at the edges, it looks like it was torn off of something."

"Which would make sense, considering how none of us have weapons anymore," Tyler said.

"Unless they bought a knife from the shop?" Ashley asked.

Jason shook his head. "That seems counterproductive, spending WitherCoins to steal WitherCoins. It seems to me like they want to save their money and spend it on something more expensive."

"Black fabric... Black fabric..." Jordan murmured to himself. "Where could that come from?"

 _"Well this is all very, very exciting,"_ everyone jumped once MonoWither spoke, _"but you guys are getting nowhere!"_

"What do you mean?" Seto asked.

"You heard us! You are getting absolutely nowhere, because you can't deduce who the culprit is with just these two clues! But all these debates, they make us shiver with anticipation just thinking of how the _upcoming_ Show Trial will turn out!"

"Upcoming?!" Steven echoed.

"Oops! Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert! Please tag your spoilers! Ah well, it's obvious anyway. Sooner or later, someone's gonna drop dead..."

"You guys, you have to listen to me!" Jade said desperately. "You can't listen to whoever's controlling MonoWither! You guys have to work together! You're all friends! None of you would kill another!"

"You really think they're going to listen to whatever sappy stuff you're preaching?!" MonoWither taunted. "You're just an insignificant fangirl! Do you really think you're worthy enough to be telling them how to live their lives? We bet they're all just laughing at you internally, just laughing at how silly and ignorant you are! We bet they make fun of you all the time when you're not around!"

Jade looked like she'd been punched in the gut and she turned away, ashamed. Ashley stepped in angrily. "Hey, leave her alone!"

"Why should we? She's just spouting a bunch of nonsense! You all know now, don't you?" MonoWither's red eyes gleamed with malice. "Someone here is planning on leaving this place, and they're gonna blacken themselves in order to do so! Can you deny that fact? Can you deny that someone here is going to betray you?"

"They... They're just desperate..." Jade tried to argue. "Those videos are convincing them to do something they don't actually want to do. If we find whoever they are, we can persuade them not to give up!"

"Gah! Stop acting like you're the noble protagonist of some stupid novel! Seriously, you're making yourself look even more naive than you already are! We know you're the youngest here, but grow up! Wait, hold on a minute..." MonoWither suddenly grinned. "Oh, we see what you're trying to do now!"

"What?" Jade asked, bewildered.

"You're trying to lower everyone's guard so that you can attack at the proper moment when no one's expecting it!"

Jade looked horrified. "No I'm not!"

"MonoWither, shut your mouth," Jason ordered. The middle head closed its mouth but the other two heads opened theirs and began to emit demonic, glitchy snarls that deafened everyone's ears. Jason covered his ears with his hands and yelled, "Shut _all_ of your mouths!"

"MMM!" MonoWither shrieked loudly, obeying Jason's words by keeping all three of their mouths closed.

"The fuck?!" Ryan exclaimed.

"MMM! MMM! MMM!"

"STOP THAT NOISE!" Jason yelled in annoyance.

"Aw, we thought you'd like to hear what your electronic music sounds like to everyone else!" Jason pursed his lips together in a thin line of disdain. "D- Does this mean we're allowed to open our mouths?" MonoWither asked hesitantly.

"NO!" Tyler yelled.

"But as your hosts, how else are we supposed to speak?!"

"I'd prefer it if you never spoke again," Annie muttered.

"Just ignore him," Husky said, "he's just trying to piss us off. Like always."

"We're just so bo-ored..." MonoWither complained, their heads drooping. "A murder's coming soon, but we're so tired of waiting..."

"You're gonna have to get used to it then," Seto said.

"Hmph!" MonoWither said indignantly, pouting like a 5-year-old being denied candy. "Seto, you're not thinking straight at all! Oh wait, what are we thinking, you've never thought in a straight manner for your whole life! You're as straight as a circle! You don't just like girls, you like all the different genders!"

Seto couldn't even object to this statement, because it was true.

MonoWither batted their eyes. "Maybe you even like _Withers_?"

He could object to this one though. "No," Seto said curtly.

"Aw, that breaks our hearts..." MonoWither suddenly shook their heads. "Agh! You guys all distracted us, we were going to tell you something important! But now we've forgot it..." Suddenly their eyes widened and their grins grew larger. "Aha! That's it! We hid a bag of surprises somewhere for a lucky winner to find!" The middle head lowered its voice to a sharp hiss. "Hint hint! It might involve WitherCoins!" Seto's eyes widened in horror. "Oops, did we give the surprise away?! Oh well! Whoever finds the bag gets the prize of, you guessed it, WitherCoins! 30 of them in fact!"

"30?!" Sky exclaimed.

"Yep! I felt like this reality TV show needed some more fun activities, so here's a scavenger hunt for you all to entertain yourselves with! That's all! Have a pleasant afternoon looking for those coins!" MonoWither cackled before disappearing.

There was silence. "What do we do now?" Bonks asked. No one knew the answer.

"If the thief gets those coins, it's all over..." Ashley murmured, trailing off.

"We can't let anyone get those coins, but how?" Jordan asked. "I'm sorry, but everyone excluding Steven are suspects."

"Maybe we should go looking for the coins then," Steven offered, gesturing to Bart and Dave. "And we'll keep the coins so that the thief doesn't find them."

"But, what if you decide to use those coins yourself?" Mitch asked suspiciously. "I'm sorry, I'm not saying that you will, but 30 WitherCoins is still a lot, even if the thief has more."

Steven looked at Mitch helplessly, unsure of how to respond to that.

"I'm not sure what to do about MonoWither's 'prize', but I think we should all watch out for our own WitherCoins. There's no telling whether or not the thief will try to steal from us as well," Jerome advised. Seto felt for the seven MonoWither coins he had in his pocket and nodded.

"Well whoever the thief is," Jade said quietly, "I hope that they change their mind, because killing all their friends won't be worth it in the end. Those videos are probably- no, not probably- _absolutely_ just a trick set up by MonoWither."

"We just have to keep believing that," Seto said in agreement. "No one has to get killed. We just all have to work together. Those videos are definitely fake."

"Y-Yeah... Definitely... fake..." Bodil whispered.

Seto noticed that he was trembling uncontrollably and crossing his arms over his chest. "Bodil?!" he asked, concerned.

"F-Fake... Those... videos... are fake... Simon... Baki... Double... Ghost... All that blood... That's definitely fake... Right...?" Bodil started laughing bitterly. It started low, under his breath, and then increased in volume and force until he was barely able to speak. It was unnerving to listen to. Bodil's laughter was usually carefree and full of delight. To hear it filled with such... _hopelessness_...

Bodil quickly clamped his hands over his mouth to stifle his uncontrollable laughter, but he couldn't seem to stop. He bowed his head, but not before everyone saw the tears that trailed down his cheeks. Ashley placed her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, but he flinched and pushed her away before running out of the cafeteria. "Bodil! Wait!" Ashley cried out, chasing after him.

Everyone else stood there, varying degrees of despair written on their faces, before slowly making their way out of the cafeteria. Seto helplessly watched everyone go until only he, Sky, and Jade remained. Sky stood up and walked into the kitchen, probably to be alone with his thoughts. Jade stared at the floor before looking up at Seto. "Seto?"

"Yeah?"

"You can catch the thief, right?" Jade asked quietly. "You can stop them and change their mind, right?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Seto asked, unintentionally letting a tone of bitter defeat into his voice.

"Well- Well I know you can do it! I believe in you!"

"...Why would you believe in _me_?"

"You have the clues! I'm sure you can figure something out! Because... if you can't... then I'm sure no one else will..." Jade fidgeted with her fingers at that statement.

"...all right then." Seto forced a slight smile of determination. "I'll figure this out. Somehow."

Jade's eyes brightened. "See! I knew you wouldn't give up!"

"Thanks, Jade."

Jade suddenly yawned loudly. "Oops, sorry, I think I read too much last night, like always... Anyway, I'm gonna go to my room." She stood up. "I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"See you."

Jade left the cafeteria. Seto went into the kitchen to find Sky rummaging through the drawers. "What are you doing?"

Sky stopped immediately and stared at Seto with horror. "I- I was just..." He sighed and glanced at his feet, deciding there was no point in lying, "...looking for knives."

"What for?!" Seto asked, startled.

Sky's face paled. "I just wanted to protect myself! Not... you know!"

"Oh," Seto mumbled, ashamed. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine," Sky said. "You've got a right to be suspicious." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm just scared. I have no clue who the thief even is."

"Neither do I," Seto replied. There was silence.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Sky murmured, brushing by Seto as he left the kitchen.

Seto watched him go, opening his mouth as though he was about to say something, but he couldn't form the words. He wanted to tell Sky that everything was going to be all right, that hiding all his feelings wouldn't solve anything...

But how could he say that when he didn't completely believe it himself?


	9. Flip of a Coin

Seto made his way back to the rooms to check on Bodil and found Ashley standing outside Bodil's room. "He won't open the door, no matter how much I knock," she said, sighing. "Plus, these rooms are soundproof, so he can't hear what I say."

"He won't answer at all?"

"Nope."

"Hold on, I've got an idea," Seto said. "Wait here."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "What do you think I've been doing this whole time?"

Seto went into his room and grabbed a notepad and a pencil before coming back. He wrote, _"Are you okay? -Seto"_ on the paper, tore it from the pad, and slid it under the door.

About 30 seconds after, the paper was slid back with a reply scrawled on it: _"I'm fine."_

Ashley and Seto looked at each other. Both of them knew that was a lie. "Give me that notepad," Ashley said, taking it from Seto before he could give a response. _"Then why won't you open the door? -Ashley"_ She slipped the paper under the door.

The reply was faster this time. _"I want to be alone right now. Don't worry about me. I'm fine."_

"Bullshit," Ashley muttered in exasperation.

"Maybe he just needs some time by himself," Seto said.

Ashley looked down at her shoes. "I know, but I'm just worried about him. I've never seen him this upset before."

"Me neither," Seto murmured, concerned for Bodil's mental wellbeing. "Still, if he's not going to open the door, then I don't think there's much we can do."

"It worries me when Bodil hides all his bad feelings with a smile." Ashley adjusted the red bows on her head. "I wish I could find whoever's controlling MonoWither and beat the crap out of them, honestly. Do they _like_ screwing with our minds?"

"I'm more afraid of the fact that their motive seems to be working," Seto admitted. "We still haven't caught the thief."

"I'm surprised no one's suspecting me," Ashley muttered. "I mean, I used to be a pickpocket living in the streets when I was a kid, remember?" She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "I bet everyone does suspect me and they just don't want to say it for some reason. I don't even have proof to back myself up. Can you help me with that? Unless you think I'm the thief too..."

Seto thought carefully. "In my opinion, writing a letter and manipulating Dave into going to the trash room area seems like something an experienced pickpocket _wouldn't_ do," Seto said. "They'd probably be more discreet about it. So there's that."

Ashley mused over this for a few seconds. "True."

"Aren't you worried that _I'm_ the thief though?" Seto asked.

Ashley laughed. "I'm sure you've got some weird sorcery tricks up your sleeve. You wouldn't need to blindfold Dave."

"...sure. Let's go with that."

"Oh dear, oh dear!"

"Not you again," Seto complained. Ashley merely glared daggers at MonoWither.

"We can't believe you two! You're too old to be succumbing to your hormones! Flirting right out here in the hallway? Geez, that's a ship we weren't expecting! What are we gonna call it? Setashley? Ashleto?"

Seto flushed red. "We were not flirting!"

"Seto, you should be ashamed of yourself!" MonoWither admonished. "How would Bodil feel if he saw you trying to steal his girl?"

Ashley raised her eyebrows. "' _His_ girl'? I belong to nobody except myself, thank you very much!"

"Yeah, yeah, well we don't need this kind of romantic drama in this reality TV show! This show is a mystery drama! A murder mystery drama! A trigger happy havoc-"

"Shut up and just tell us who the thief is!" Ashley demanded, brandishing her fists. "I know you know who they are!"

"Tell you and take all the 'mystery' part out of the show? We think not! Also, mind those fists, because violence against your hosts is prohibited! Remember what happened the last time someone broke that rule?"

Ashley growled as she lowered her hands.

Seto flinched at the painful reminder, but his sorrow gave way to anger as he spoke. "Seth was trying to save us and you killed him for it."

"Yes, we already established that in the last episode!" MonoWither said exasperatedly. "Get with the program!"

"We won't let him die in vain!" Seto declared. "We're going to get out of here somehow!"

"Ooh! Is Seto taking on the challenge of being the daring side character? How exciting! Maybe if the audience likes you enough, you'll get your own spinoff show! It'll go into all the details about your _entire_ life, from _childhood_ to the present..." MonoWither's red eyes gleamed maliciously with that... _knowing_ look that made Seto shudder. Seto reminded himself that there was no way that MonoWither actually knew his past.

"Puhuhuhu! Well, you two should be looking for the prize instead of flirting with each other! You never know when such an opportunity will come again!" And with that, MonoWither disappeared.

"Dammit!" Ashley muttered under her breath. "What do we do now?"

"I have no idea," Seto admitted. "I'm going to try and find more clues."

"Well, I guess I'll check on Bodil later..." Ashley said, putting her hands in the front pockets of her blue shorts. "See you, Seto."

"See you," Seto replied.

Ashley walked back to her room, her curly brown locks bouncing as she walked.

Seto stood there, thinking over what he had to do. He either had to catch the thief or get the prize before anyone else did. But how?

Well for starters, standing in front of Bodil's door wouldn't solve anything. Seto walked out of the hallway and into the central hall. After a few moments, he decided that the shop might hold some valuable clues, so he headed over there.

That was when he heard the rapid footsteps racing towards him. Seto started to turn around when he felt something forcefully smack the right side of his head.

He didn't even register himself hitting the floor before he went out like a light.

* * *

Seto was drifting in a black, inky nothingness. He heard nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing. A part of him wanted to stay forever in this emptiness, because it was better than actually feeling something...

Then he saw a blurred, vague silhouette of someone wearing red. Seto tried to focus on the figure, but it only made his head swim further. The person asked, "Seto? What are you doing here?" Seto felt like that echoing voice was supposed to be familiar, but he couldn't make sense of what was going on...

Then he slipped from the nothingness and fell back to the real world.

* * *

Seto's eyes shot open and he gasped loudly. "Woah there," someone said, pushing him back down with his shoulders. "Easy now."

"Ugh..." Seto groaned, blinking rapidly until his vision cleared. He saw Husky staring down at him. His head ached horribly and he brought his hand to the sensitive spot where it hurt the most. It was a throbbing pain that made his stomach queasy.

"Oh thank god you're alive!" That was Jason, at least Seto thought so. He tried to sort out his jumbled thoughts and make sense of his surroundings. For some reason, he was lying on a flat tiled surface and his head was injured somehow. He tried to think of the reason why he was here.

Husky turned to face someone. "Hey Jordan, see if there's any ice in the kitchen. Also, grab a towel or something like that."

"On it!" Jordan replied.

Husky turned back to Seto. "Okay Seto, how do you feel?"

Seto's face twisted in pain. "It hurts..." he uttered vaguely.

"Scale your pain from one through ten."

"A... 5? 6? 4?"

"That is not very helpful," Husky stated. "But that's okay."

Jordan came back with some ice and a dishcloth. He wrapped the cloth around the ice cubes and pressed the bundle against the side of Seto's head. Seto hissed as the sudden cold touched his skin, but then sighed in relief as the pain subsided somewhat.

"Okay Seto, look at me," Husky ordered. Seto obeyed, staring directly at the humanoid mudkip. "Eye coordination seems to be in check..." he muttered. "Do you know who I am?"

Seto smiled cheekily. "A... fish..."

Jordan snorted in surprise before he started snickering. Husky merely blinked at Seto. "Oh dear. It looks like the concussion was more serious than I thought. He can't recognize me at all," he said sarcastically.

"I don't know about that," Jason said, chuckling, "I think he got it right."

"Where... am I...?" Seto asked, trying to turn his neck. He winced in pain and stopped. "What... happened...?"

"Do you remember anything?" Husky asked. "Like how you got knocked out?"

Seto strained as he tried to remember. "I... was heading over to the shop... to look for the thief... And then someone came up from behind and... knocked me out with something..." Seto grimaced at the memory. "I don't know how... they hit me so hard..."

"We don't know what the person hit you with," Jordan said. "We couldn't find anything. The person must have taken it with them."

"What time did this happen, Seto?" Jason questioned.

"Uh... Three-ish? I think?"

Husky, Jason, and Jordan all looked at each other. "Well it's 7 o'clock now," Jordan said. "We found you at about 4."

"...I was out for that long?" Seto asked weakly.

Jason nodded. "Yep. Scared the shit out of us too when we saw you just lying here. We thought someone had... well... you know..."

Seto's eyes widened. "Oh."

"I wonder who attacked you and why, since it wasn't to kill you," Jordan said. "I didn't see anyone else out here, although since they had an hour, they probably went back to their room."

"Do you think the thief has something to do with this?" Husky asked.

Thief... Thief... Seto desperately felt inside his pockets. His face paled and he gasped in shock.

"What's wrong, Seto?" Jason asked, concerned.

Seto still had his key and his e-Handbook. As for the rest of his things... "They're... gone..." he whispered.

"What's gone?" Jordan asked.

"My WitherCoins... and the letter... and the blindfold..." Seto said. "They're gone..."

Realization flashed across all of their faces. "So it _was_ the thief!" Husky exclaimed.

"They must have knocked you out in order to take your stuff and dispose of the clues!" Jason said.

"That makes sense," Jordan said. "Did you see who hit you?"

Seto tried to shake his head but the pain only sharpened when he did so. "No..." he replied uneasily.

Clutching the ice pack against his head with one hand, Seto struggled to move himself into a sitting position with the other.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jordan asked.

"Urg... Standing up..."

"Why?" Jason questioned.

"Gotta... find... the thief..." Seto muttered, grasping at the wall for support. This effort was making him dizzy. The world seemed to swirl underneath him and he almost puked. "Before it's too late..."

"Oh no you don't!" Husky said, grabbing his arm to stop him. "You're going to bed so you can rest properly. You just had a concussion!"

Seto tried to argue. "But... I have to find the thief..."

"Husky's right, Seto," Jordan said, "you're in no position to be walking around."

"But..."

"No buts!" Jason insisted, putting the sorcerer's arm over his neck and helping him stand up. Seto unintentionally started leaning on him. "We're taking you to your room. Come on."

Seto sighed reluctantly, knowing it was no use defying them. "Okay..."

Jordan stood up and put Seto's other arm over his neck so that both he and Jason were supporting him. Slowly, they helped Seto make his way back to his room. It was a struggle for Seto to put one foot in front of the other. Once again, he resisted the urge to puke.

When they finally got to his room, Husky took Seto's key and opened the door. Jason and Jordan laid Seto down on the bed. Seto was too exhausted by the whole ordeal to even take his cloak off.

"Hope you get better man," Husky said, worried.

"Yeah, just get some rest," Jason said. "Don't worry about it."

"See you in the morning," Jordan said.

"Thanks..." Seto mumbled in reply, his eyes already half-lidded with drowsiness. He heard the door close and he quickly drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Seto didn't even hear the Night Time announcement or the morning announcement, so he slept past them both. When he finally woke up, he looked at the clock and realized it was about 8:30 in the morning. His throbbing head still ached, but the pain had lessened considerably. Seto briefly wondered why his head was hurting when it all came back to him: the thief, the concussion, the missing evidence and WitherCoins. The sorcerer rubbed his eyes and sighed in relief; he didn't have an awful nightmare this time.

He sat up and looked at the nightstand to see a cup of water. Seto blinked in confusion as he grabbed the note that was lying beside it. _"Here's a painkiller for your headache! It'll take effect in about 30 minutes. Don't choke on it! If you did and ended up dying, we'd call it a 'pankiller'! :D Get it? Pan because you're pansexual? Haha, maybe we should be the Super Duper Minecrafter Level PUNishers! What do you think? Sincerely, your lovely hosts"_

Seto rolled his eyes in annoyance before tossing the paper in the trash. He then picked up the brown-colored pill and stared at it before concluding that MonoWither would have no reason to poison him. He swallowed it down with the water.

Seto then made his way to the cafeteria to see Husky, Jason, Jordan, Mitch, Jerome, Ryan, and Sky. The group all turned to him when he appeared. "Good morning," Seto greeted.

"Are you all right?" Sky asked, concerned. Husky, Jason, and Jordan must have told them all what had happened to Seto the night before.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Seto said, sitting down next to him.

"How's your head?" Husky asked. "Does it still hurt?"

"It's a lot better than it was last night," Seto replied, touching the spot lightly. "Thanks for helping me, guys."

"No problem, Seto," Jason said, smiling.

"But we still haven't found the thief yet..." Jordan admitted.

"I think we should warn the others and all be on our guard," Jerome said. "I did say that the thief might steal more coins from us, but I didn't think they'd actually use _force_."

"I'm wondering why the thief didn't just kill Seto right then and there," Mitch said. "Not that that's not a good thing, but it's something to think about."

"Who would do this though?" Ryan asked, nervously tense.

"It's not Steven and it's not Seto," Jordan said thoughtfully. "That still leaves 13 possible suspects. And who knows, maybe the thief is working with someone."

"You said that you didn't find what was used to knock Seto out?" Sky asked for confirmation.

Husky nodded. "We didn't find anything. The thief must have taken it with them or hidden it somewhere."

"Coward," Ryan muttered.

"Hey, have you guys seen Jade anywhere?" Seto asked tentatively. "She's usually one of the first people up, so I was just wondering..."

All of them shook their heads. "Nope," Jason said, "didn't see her yet."

"I wouldn't worry about it. People her age sleep a lot," Jordan said, laughing. "I know I did."

"But she does usually wake up ridiculously early..." Mitch noted.

"And it's already 8:45," Jerome said.

"It's... probably no big deal," Sky said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, you're right..." Seto said hesitantly.

The minutes went by as more and more people entered the cafeteria, but Jade remained mysteriously absent. Husky made sure to let them all know what happened to Seto (which made the sorcerer quite embarrassed due to all the concerned comments he received as a result). This, combined with Seto asking every person if they'd seen Jade to no avail, made the mood grow more apprehensive as the time passed.

At about 9:30, Bonks finally appeared, as usual. She was the last one other than Jade to make her morning entrance. Seto bit his lip nervously as he went up to her. "Bonks?"

"Hey Seto!" she greeted.

"Have you seen Jade anywhere?" Everyone went silent as they listened carefully.

"No. Is she not here yet?" Bonks looked around. "I thought I was the last one."

Seto shook his head. "Well you're not."

"That's weird..." Bonks said slowly.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Tyler asked tentatively.

"Yeah, Jade's usually one of the first people up," Annie noted. "We thought maybe you'd seen her somewhere, but it seems like none of us have..."

"Do you think one of us should go check on her?" Mitch asked. "Just to make sure she's all right?"

Everyone seemed extremely on edge. They all had the same awful thought lingering in their heads. "I- I'm sure all that nightly reading she did got to her," Steven tried to explain.

"Y-Yeah!" Bodil stammered. He didn't look much better than the afternoon before, Seto realized. "Maybe she just finally crashed!"

"Still, one of us should check," Husky murmured.

"It's better to be safe than sorry," Jerome said quietly.

Seto swallowed down the rising panic that swelled inside of him. "I'll do it then. I'll go check on her." He promptly left the cafeteria and made his way back to the hallway. Seto found Jade's room and knocked on the door. "Jade? You all right?" he asked, before reminding himself that the rooms were soundproof. He knocked on the door, this time a little harder, before he pressed his ear against the door. He strained to hear any signs of movement inside, but there were none.

MonoWither's voice snaked its way into his head like a parasite. _"We'll let you out as long as you kill someone! And the method doesn't matter. Drowning, strangling, stabbing, burning, poisoning-"_

He told himself to stop being so paranoid. There was no way that... anything like _that_ had happened! Seto began pounding on the door in desperation. Surely Jade could hear this? However, there was still no response. _Maybe she's taking a shower. Yeah, that must be it._ But the nauseating feeling of dread wouldn't leave him alone.

He turned the doorknob and, to his surprise, found that it was unlocked. Did Jade forget to lock her door? Maybe she'd been so preoccupied in her nightly reading, she'd forgotten to do it...

Seto pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Jade?" he asked quietly, turning to the direction of the bed. "Are you ok-"

His voice died in his throat and his breath hitched as all the blood drained from Seto's face. All at once, his muscles went tense and a cold feeling of terror and apprehension sank its way into his stomach like ice. He stood there, paralyzed on the spot as he stared, with dilated pupils, at what was in front of him.

Seto couldn't close his eyes, couldn't look away from the horrible sight, no matter how much he wanted to. It burned permanently in his retinas, the image of Jade's limp body as it laid there, facedown, on the bloodstained floor just a few feet away from the bed.


	10. Sleight of Hand

_"I wouldn't call myself optimistic... It's more like I trust you guys a lot."_

_"This will probably sound really weird, since you don't know me at all, but I know that you're all good people who'd never kill your friends. Even if we do have to stay here forever, at least no one's going to betray and kill one another..."_

_"This is really stupid, but I've always wanted to be an actual author..."_

_"You can catch the thief, right? You can stop them and change their mind, right?"_

_"I guess I'll see you in the morning..."_

Jade, still wearing her blue dress, was lying facedown in a bunch of crimson splatters that stained the carpet. Her pale arms were splayed out in front of her head, as though she had been trying to crawl away before collapsing on the spot. The begonia that was still clipped onto her black hair dipped down into the blood, staining the edges of the white petals.

Seto said nothing, _felt_ nothing other than his heart thumping rapidly in his chest. He didn't scream or make any sound at all. It was as though a cold wave of numbness had swept over him, making all of his emotions shut off automatically. He raced over to the body and grabbed Jade's left wrist with trembling fingers, feeling for a pulse.

There was none.

Seto heard someone shriek loudly and whirled around to see Annie and Ashley standing there. Annie was covering her mouth with her hands, quivering as she stared at the awful sight. Ashley, whose brown eyes were wide with disbelief, darted over to the body and turned it to the side to show Jade's bloodstained face. Seto shivered when he saw the blood smearing Jade's glasses, shielding her closed eyes. Ashley gasped and she let the body fall back to its original position.

 **A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED!** MonoWither's voice said cheerily through the speakers. **Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the Show Trial will begin!**

Chills ran up and down Seto's spine as he heard the gleeful message. _A body... discovered..._ He briefly wondered if he was dreaming, hoped and prayed that this was all fiction, but hopes and prayers meant nothing in this place. The proof was right in front of him.

Soon enough, the rest of the people came rushing in once they heard the announcement. "OH MY GOD!" Mitch shouted in absolute horror the moment he saw the body.

Jerome, who was standing next to him, staggered backwards. "I- I-" He looked like he was about to puke.

"Oh no, oh no no no..." Sky stammered. "This is not happening..."

"What's going on?!" Bonks asked, pushing her way to the front of the crowd. She cried out in shock the moment she saw the body. "JADE!"

Bart's pupils dilated in horror (an unusual response for the typically unfazed Enderman) and he attempted to shield both Steven and Dave's eyes, but Steven saw it anyway. Steven raced to Jade's side and touched her shoulder, but then quickly drew his hand back when he realized how cold and unresponsive Jade felt. "What happened to her?! Why is she...?"

Seto stared blankly at Steven. "Jade's dead," he murmured, his voice devoid of emotion.

"What?!" Tyler asked, his face pale as snow. He started smiling instinctively. "That's a joke, right?"

"This is not a joke. Jade is dead," Seto continued matter-of-factly. He didn't understand why he was speaking so calmly. He was completely devoid of all feeling, as though he was walking through an empty haze. "I can feel no pulse. The blood is somewhat dry, indicating that this death occurred several hours ago."

"You, you've got to be shitting me!" Ryan said disbelievingly, running his trembling hand through his dark hair.

"That has to be fake!" Bodil exclaimed. "That has to be a fake body! There's no way that Jade's... actually..."

 _"_ _Upupupu_ _!"_ MonoWither exclaimed as they suddenly appeared. "A fake body? We wouldn't waste our budget on such an unnecessary prop! Nope, what you're looking at is the real deal! It's the corpse of Jade, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Lucky Fan! Well, we guess her luck ran out, huh? Good riddance. She was annoying."

"You're the one who killed her, right?" Jordan yelled, balling his hands into fists. "It has to be you!"

"Us? We are your hosts! We wouldn't kill one of our participants ourselves unless they broke the rules! No, _we're_ not the killers... The person who's responsible for Jade's murder is _one_ _of_ _you_!"

 _One_ _of_ _us_ _?_ Seto thought. _But who would do something like this?_

"That's not possible!" Jason said hysterically. "None of us would kill someone!"

"That's what you guys said yesterday with that whole thief fiasco!" Everyone went silent as they processed this. Seto looked around at all the familiar faces, unable to believe that one of them could be a killer. He wasn't the only one observing the others with the same disbelief. "Oh, how the suspicion and tension grows! _Finally_ we've got some good entertainment going on!" MonoWither exclaimed with delight.

Husky growled. "Entertainment? Jade's dead, and you think it's _entertainment_?"

"Eh. Guess you can't please every crowd," MonoWither said nonchalantly. "But now that you've discovered the body, it's time for the investigation! You may use the "Evidence" section of your e-Handbook to take photos and type notes that you think will help you during the Class Trial! This is your first time doing this, so here's our advice! Do you really think you'll get all the time you want to investigate? No! Your time is limited! Save your discussions for the Show Trial! Focus on getting all your evidence first! It'd be a shame if you guys ran out of time and you missed a vital clue, huh? We'd be forced to execute all of you and let the killer go free..." MonoWither giggled as though they really didn't care what the outcome was at all.

"And finally, here's an early Christmas gift for all of you, courtesy of your hosts!" MonoWither passed a tablet to Seto, who gripped it with his shaking hands. "It's the MonoWither File! It will provide you with certain facts about the victim's corpse!" MonoWither spun around with ecstasy. "That's all for now! Get investigating!" They disappeared after a long, hearty cackle.

There was a heavy silence. "I... I can't believe... this is actually happening..." Steven murmured, his eyes wide as saucers.

"Do we really have to do this?" Jason asked, his face tinged with a sickly green as he stared at the body.

"We have no other choice, do we?" Ashley said faintly. "If we don't catch the culprit, then we'll all be executed, and the murderer will be freed..."

Jordan nodded sadly. "We have to do this for Jade. We have to bring her killer to justice..."

Sky crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. "D-Dammit..." he whispered, trembling. "Damn it all... Why did this have to happen?"

"I think that we should spread out and investigate the entire floor," Seto said in a flat voice, taking charge of the whole thing. Subconsciously, he felt like Jade would want him to do this. "Two people should stay here to guard the crime scene and make sure that whoever the killer is doesn't dispose of evidence."

"Why two people?" Tyler asked.

"Because one of the guards could be the killer. Having two guards prevents this from happening," Seto replied.

"In that case, Jerome and I can guard the crime scene," Mitch said quietly. "I don't think I'm very good at this kind of investigating stuff."

Seto nodded. "With that settled, I think we should get started now. As MonoWither said, we don't have much time to spare. Some of you should stay and help me investigate this room, but the rest of you will have to try and find clues elsewhere."

The people all dispersed until Mitch, Jerome, Ryan, Husky, Annie, Tyler, and Sky were left in Jade's room. Mitch and Jerome stood on both sides of the door and watched them carefully.

Seto turned on the tablet he'd received. The screen lit on to say "MonoWither File #1". Seto swiped up to show an outline of Jade's figure. Bloodstains marked her mouth area. The text next to it said, "The victim is Jade, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Lucky Fan. The murder occurred at 1:18 a.m. in Jade's room. She was found in the same place at around 9:34 a.m. There are no external wounds."

"No external wounds?" Tyler asked. "Then what's with all the blood?"

Husky moved to examine the body, but drew his hand back and swallowed nervously. "I feel like this is disrespectful, touching her body like this..." he murmured.

"It's just a body," Seto replied in a numb voice. "That's all it is. A lifeless corpse. Nothing more."

Husky gave Seto a strange look, which Seto met with glazed eyes, before he began delicately examining the corpse. "Jade coughed the blood up," Husky finally replied. "You can see that all the blood came from her mouth."

"It was probably her body's reaction to an unknown poison," Seto said.

"Poison?" Annie asked, horrified. "How do you know?"

Seto gestured to several glass shards that were strewn about on the floor. "These are the remains of a Splash Potion. The killer must have thrown the poison at her and killed her," he said with that same unfazed tone.

"Seto, how are you acting so calmly about this?" Sky asked quietly, wringing his sweaty hands. Seto ignored Sky's question as he pulled out his e-Handbook and snapped a picture of the body (it made his stomach twist just doing it, but his face didn't change) as well as a picture of the glass shards.

Seto stood up and decided to examine the rest of the room. He couldn't shake off this shell of indifference he had instinctively surrounded himself with. It felt like he was moving around in a strange dream, a dream that had no basis in reality...

The first thing Seto noticed was that the battery-powered lamp that was supposed to be on the nightstand had fallen onto the floor a few feet away from the body. The lamp shade was lying on the ground and the light bulb was shattered. Seto took a picture of this and wrote a note: "Signs of a struggle"

 _Edgar_ _Allan_ _Poe_ _:_ _A_ _Collection_ _of_ _Stories_ was still lying on the nightstand. The pages Jade had left off on were pressed down on the surface. Seto thought for a few moments before taking a picture of the book as well.

"Hey Seto, look at this," Mitch said, pointing at the light switch by the door. "There's bloody fingerprints here."

Seto went over to Mitch and looked at them. There were indeed several fingerprints surrounding and covering the light switch, although they were too smudged to be recognizable. Seto took a picture of them. "Thanks."

Mitch and Jerome stared at him with peculiar expressions before looking at each other. Seto ignored them too. He just couldn't feel anything at all...

Seto looked around, trying to see if there were any more clues, when he heard Husky mutter, "H-Hold on a second... Can you guys look at this?" He was staring at the splatters of blood on the floor in front of Jade's head. Her fingers were curled, but her right index finger was extended. "Maybe I'm just seeing things, but it almost looks like she wrote something with the blood..."

Tyler's eyes widened. "What did she write?"

All of the people immediately gathered to where Husky was. Seto studied the swirls of blood and realized that there indeed were letters written by her finger, albeit in a messy fashion. Husky slowly spelled them out. "S... E... T... O..."

Everyone turned to stare at Seto, including Mitch and Jerome, who had overheard. Seto's eyes widened. "W-Wait, I didn't-"

"Seto? It was you?!" Annie exclaimed in shock, stepping away from him. " _You_ killed Jade?"

"No!" Seto shouted. "It wasn't me!"

"Seto..." Sky whispered, gazing at him with disbelief.

"I didn't do it!" Seto insisted.

"Well the proof's right fucking there!" Ryan yelled, glaring at Seto accusingly. "Jade wanted to tell us who killed her right before she died, and she wrote _your_ name!"

"I'm telling you it wasn't me!" Seto said frantically. "Someone must be framing me-"

"How come you're only showing emotion now?" Tyler asked quietly. "You didn't react at all when you found Jade... You've been talking about her death as though it didn't affect you at all..."

There was silence as everyone registered this fact. "I- I- I just-" Seto stammered. The numb shell of indifference finally began to crack as tears sprung to his eyes. An aching lump formed in his throat as he swallowed. He stared down at Jade's body and his mind began to swirl as nausea sank into his stomach.

Jade was only 16, and here she was. Dead. Cold. Lifeless.

Murdered by someone she admired and trusted.

"How could you do something like that and not feel a thing?!" Annie shrieked. "She was only 16!" Suddenly overcome by sadness, she choked out a sob and buried her face in her hands.

"I bet you were only pretending to be her friend!" Ryan said accusingly. "You were planning to betray her all along, weren't you?!" Before Seto could defend himself, Ryan grabbed the front of his gray cloak and slammed him against the wall. Pain shot up Seto's back upon impact and he cried out. His head began to throb again. "Did you fucking enjoy it, you sick bastard?!" Ryan asked.

Seto found himself trapped under the piercing gaze of Ryan's cold, furious blue eyes. "Let go of me!" he yelled hysterically, terrified, as he desperately struggled to free himself from the enraged man's iron grip. "Let go!"

Ryan's grasp only tightened. "You're not getting away from this..." he hissed.

"Ryan, stop!" Tyler yelled, rushing forward and struggling to pry Ryan's fingers from Seto's cloak. "You're going too far!"

Ryan's jaws were clenched in anger. "No!" he yelled, pushing Tyler away. "He needs to pay!" He was beyond listening to reason.

Mitch and Jerome ran over to Ryan and tried to pull him away from Seto. "Ryan, calm down!" Jerome shouted.

Sky and Husky grabbed Ryan and the four of them managed to pull him and Seto away from the wall. Ryan's grip remained firm, however. Seto was close to having a panic attack. Everyone was shouting and yelling loudly, matching the chaos that ran rampant in their souls. Finally, Seto formed a ball of energy which started in his heart and quickly expanded and burst, sending everyone surrounding him falling to the ground.

"STOP FIGHTING!" Annie shrieked. Everyone went silent as they stared at her. She was shaking with fury where she stood, tears staining her cheeks as she breathed heavily. "Jade's dead, and here you are just fighting and arguing like _children_!"

"Well Seto's the one who killed her!" Ryan yelled angrily before turning to face Seto. "Why?! _Why would you do something like that?!_ " he demanded. It was only then that Seto saw the hurt and disbelief in Ryan's eyes, the pained expression of someone who was reeling from the terrible betrayal of a friend he'd trusted. This was the real reason why he'd lashed out...

"Now hold on a second!" Husky said, rushing to Seto's defense. "Last night, Seto was sleeping due to his concussion!"

"Do we know he was sleeping the whole time?" Tyler countered. "For all we know, that concussion thing was an act to give himself a false alibi."

Husky couldn't refute that, although he still looked doubtful.

"Seto would never kill anyone..." Sky whispered. "He wouldn't do something like that... This has to be a mistake..."

"I don't know about that, Sky," Jerome said honestly. "I personally didn't think anyone would actually kill someone, and yet here we are." He turned to Seto. "I don't know if you're actually the murderer or if you've been framed, but you're still the most likely suspect. And for that, we're going to have to make you stay in this room and not do anything until the investigation is over."

"Stay and not do anything?" Seto asked quietly.

"We can't take any risks," Mitch said, stepping towards him. "Sorry, but we need to keep a close eye on you."

Seto wanted to object, but it was seven against one (although it seemed that Husky and Sky were still somewhat on his side). "I... I understand," he murmured.

Annie glared at him with tear-filled eyes before turning away. Ryan was clenching his fists as though he wanted nothing more than to punch the living daylights out of Seto, but his eyes were shiny. Tyler refused to meet Seto's gaze and stayed wary of him. Husky looked utterly overwhelmed by everything. Sky kept staring at the bloody message, as though trying to find some explanation for it other than the seemingly obvious one.

Seto tried to think of something that would prove, without a doubt, he wasn't the killer. He had been sleeping the whole night due to his concussion, but what evidence could confirm this? Seto tried not to think about what would happen if they voted for the wrong person...

 _"_ _Investigation_ _time_ _is_ _over_ _!"_ MonoWither announced over the speakers. "Now then, please head over to the basement entrance near the trash room!"

They all filed out of Jade's room. No one was willing to look at Seto, all of them keeping their distance. Seto unconsciously gripped the sides of his hood and drew it further over his head in an attempt to alleviate his growing unease, although it probably made him look even more suspicious. He had no idea who the real culprit was. He also had no idea how he was going to defend himself. He just hoped that the others had found more clues...

The fifteen of them, along with Bart and Dave, met in front of the basement entrance. Seto saw Annie walk over to Ashley and Bodil and whisper something in their ears. Ashley looked up at Seto and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Bodil shook his head and seemed to be vehemently denying whatever Annie said. Seto turned away, feeling hurt by the trust he was losing in everyone.

"Hey, Seto?" Sky said, putting his hand on the sorcerer's shoulder. "Do you have any proof you're not the killer?" There seemed to be a desperation in his voice.

Seto was silent. "No," he admitted.

Sky stared at the floor. "Tell me the truth. Did you... _really_ not kill her?"

"Do you think I did?" Seto countered quietly.

Sky slowly crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't know who to believe anymore," he said quietly.

 _"_ _Okay_ _,_ _that's_ _everyone_ _!"_ MonoWither exclaimed, appearing out of nowhere and spinning around in circles of delight. "Oh gosh, we're so excited to be hosting our very first Show Trial! We've finally reached the climax of this first story arc! Aren't you excited too?" The silence answered his question. "Wow, you're all a bunch of party poopers... Well whatever, let's not waste any more time, shall we?"

MonoWither flew in front of the scanner. It blinked green and the giant door slid open to reveal a large elevator. "Please enter the elevator one by one! Don't rush, this elevator hasn't been used in awhile and we'd hate it if you all had a nasty fall!"

All of them entered the elevator hesitantly. Seto fought the urge to just run out of there, run as far as possible from what was about to happen. He started to feel sick with nausea and anxiety and his heart thumped faster and faster. What if they all voted him as the killer? What if they couldn't find the right person?

The elevator doors closed and the compartment moved downwards. The lights flickered ominously as the elevator rattled and shook. After a few apprehensive moments, it came to a gradual stop. The doors opened to reveal a courtroom with blue-and-yellow checkered walls. There were 16 wooden trial stands, all arranged in one big circle. "Okay, find your assigned stand and don't fool around!" MonoWither ordered.

Seto found his stand, which was to Husky's right. On the other side, there was a stand with a picture frame supported by a long pole. Seto looked at the picture frame and flinched with surprise. It was a black-and-white image of Seth's face with a crimson X crossed over it. The X looked like it was made out of redstone trails.

Seto looked forward and almost screamed in horror when saw Jade's picture frame directly in front of him. It was between Sky and Mitch, who were both staring at it with equal apprehension. The pole supporting the frame was rather short, only reaching up to their chests. Seto realized that the frame was positioned in a way to indicate Jade's height. Her red X looked like it was made out of a quill and a pencil. Seto felt ill just looking at it.

"What are those?" Jordan asked in a shaky voice, gesturing to the two portraits.

"Oh, these?" MonoWither said gleefully from their massive red throne that was off to the side. "We're glad you asked! We thought it'd be so sad to leave two of your friends out just because they tragically kicked the bucket, so here they are! It's almost like they never left!"

"You're sick..." Jason whispered, echoing all of their thoughts.

"Of course we're sick, we're sick of waiting for you slowpokes! Let's get this Show Trial started already!" MonoWither shouted. Then the middle head cleared his throat. "We are here to discuss the murder of Jade, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Lucky Fan. It's time for our Super Duper Minecrafter participants to solve this mystery and find the culprit of this heinous crime! If they choose correctly, the blackened alone will be punished. But if they choose incorrectly, then they will all be punished, the blackened will be free to leave, and the show will end!"

A claw holding a brown gavel emerged from the wall and prepared to slam it on the armrest of MonoWither's throne. Seto realized that in this trial of life and death, their fates hung on the balance of truth and lies. He also realized that no matter what the verdict was, at least one person wouldn't come out of this courtroom alive.

Seto looked around at all the worried and anxious faces before his brown eyes hardened with resolve. He had to put aside his feelings for now, there was no other choice. One of them was a killer, and no matter how much he didn't want to, he had to bring this person to justice. He had to do this for Jade and for everyone else. He had to, or else...

_"You have the clues! I'm sure you can figure something out! Because... if you can't... then I'm sure no one else will..."_

_"I know you can do it! I believe in you!"_

Had Jade really only spoken those words just yesterday? It seemed like ages now, like a mere distant memory...

MonoWither slammed the gavel down. The court was in session.


	11. Stolen Life

**(I finished the whole trial already, but** **I** **divided** **it into** **separate chapters.)**

Ryan immediately slammed his hands on the podium. "There's no need to waste any more time. We already know who the culprit is." He pointed at Seto with a shaky finger. "It's obvious that Seto is the killer!"

Gasps and murmurs of shock filled the courtroom. "Are you serious?" Bonks exclaimed, her pink eyes wide with disbelief.

"That can't be right!" Bodil declared.

Seto stared at the floor and remained silent, knowing that anything he said would be held against him.

"How are you so sure about this?" Steven asked, his eyebrows raised.

Ryan pulled out his e-Handbook and pressed a few buttons. All of the other e-Handbooks beeped. Seto looked at his and saw a photo of the bloody message Jade had left behind. "It's messy, but there's no doubt about it. Jade wrote Seto's name on the floor as her dying message to tell us that he was the one who killed her," Ryan said.

"But wasn't Seto knocked unconscious yesterday?" Jason asked. "We had to carry him back to his room. He was sleeping the whole night!"

"Unless he faked it somehow," Jordan murmured.

"No, I didn't fake it," Seto said, choosing his words carefully. "First of all, if I killed Jade, then why didn't I remove the message?"

"That's because you didn't see it!" Annie said, fire burning in her eyes. "We didn't see it at first, and you were no exception!"

Seto bit his lip. He couldn't refute that.

"It _does_ seem very suspicious," Steven admitted, although it didn't seem like he was fully convinced.

"Is that the only proof we have though?" Jerome asked. "It's a possibility that Seto is the culprit, but that message could have also been written by the killer. They could have written Seto's name to frame him."

Husky sighed reluctantly and showed them a photo. "I'm sorry, but the blood on Jade's finger indicates that she indeed wrote the message herself."

"But what if the killer took her hand and wrote the message that way?" Jason suggested.

Husky stared at the photo. "That could work, I suppose," he said finally. "But there's no way to know for certain."

Seto swallowed. His throat was parched, making it hard to speak. "Okay, but if I was the killer, then why did I suggest someone guard the crime scene? I could have easily kept silent."

"To fool us into thinking you were innocent, of course!" Ryan yelled. "If you'd already disposed of all the evidence, then you wouldn't need to hide anything during the investigation! Plus, you were the one who offered to check on Jade..."

"How could I have disposed of all the evidence when the trash room is closed off during Night Time?" Seto countered.

"I'm sure you had your ways..." Annie said darkly.

_Damn it! How can I convince them? There has to be something!_

Tyler spoke up. "This is just my opinion, but the way Seto acted when he found the body was strange."

"What do you mean?" Bonks asked.

"He seemed so indifferent about everything," Tyler replied. "Like it was nothing more than another day for him."

"It was almost like he didn't care at all," Annie muttered.

"He... did seem pretty emotionless..." Mitch admitted.

"You can't factor emotions into something like this," Jordan declared. "Everyone reacts to trauma in different ways. What we need are facts, not assumptions."

"Well does anyone have some other idea who the killer is?" Ashley asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Because Seto's the only one here with incriminating evidence..."

"Um, maybe it'd be helpful if we went over what happened during Jade's murder?" Bodil suggested hesitantly. He cleared his throat and continued. "I mean, some of us don't even know how she died... If we go over what happened, we might find something..."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Steven said in agreement.

Jerome spoke up. "Okay, then I'll start. At around 1:15 or so, the killer entered Jade's room with an unknown deadly poison. It was a Splash Potion. We know this because there were glass shards found near her body. The killer threw the poison at Jade, killing her."

A melancholy expression crossed Bonks face. "And she must have died **unable to fight back**..."

Seto narrowed his eyes. That part didn't seem right. He had proof to back this up, didn't he?

 **> >>-BROKEN-LAMP->** **((UNABLE TO FIGHT BACK))**

"No Bonks, that's wrong," Seto said, shaking his head. "Jade _did_ fight back. At least I think she did." He held up his e-Handbook, found the picture of the broken lamp, and saw that there was an option to "Present Evidence". "This was near her body. As you can see, the shade fell off and the light bulb is shattered. These are signs that a struggle took place."

"Oh..." Bonks said, bowing her head. "Sorry, I didn't see that."

"But what if Jade just knocked it over after she was hit with the poison?" Sky asked.

"If she knocked it over, then it would have just been lying on the floor," Seto replied. "The light bulb wouldn't have been broken like that; the shade would have protected it."

"Okay, but what if the killer attacked Jade with the lamp?" Ryan suggested.

"...I don't see any reason why the killer would do that," Seto said after a moment's pause.

"To subdue her before poisoning her!"

"But that'd just be a waste of energy," Seto retorted. "Besides, since Jade was the one who let the killer in, she would have been standing between the killer and the lamp. There's no reason for the killer to run past Jade, all the way across the room, and turn around to hit her with the lamp."

Ryan tried to formulate a counterargument, but found that he could not.

"So Jade fought back against her killer, but to no avail," Ashley murmured. "Physically, she was the weakest out of all of us..." She then slammed her fist against the podium in anger. "I should have realized that the killer would target her!"

"We can't think about that now, Ashley," Jordan reminded her. "We have to focus on finding the killer. That's our main priority."

Ashley grit her teeth, but said nothing.

"So we know that she fought back, but does it matter?" Sky asked. "It doesn't bring us any closer to figuring out who did it..."

"No, but it does give us a better picture of what happened," Jason said. "Did anyone check..." A look of discomfort crossed his face as he forced the next words out. "...the body?"

"I did," Husky said. "As stated in the MonoWither File, Jade had no external wounds. All of the blood was due to her coughing it up as a result of the poison."

"How did the killer get into Jade's room in the first place?" Steven asked. "Did they break in somehow?"

"The locks have an anti-picking mechanism though," Tyler said.

"If Seto killed her, he could have just done a spell to unlock it..." Annie muttered.

Seto pondered for a moment. "MonoWither, is it possible for magic to unlock the doors?" he asked.

"What? Of course not!" MonoWither exclaimed. "It'd be too easy for you to just go waltzing around wherever you pleased! No, these locks are definitely magic-protected! Don't even try to break those spells!"

"So basically it would have been impossible for me to break into the room like that," Seto concluded.

"Maybe Jade just forgot to lock her door?" Mitch suggested.

Husky shook his head. "That'd be way too convenient for the killer. They would have had some other plan to get in somehow."

"What if the killer just knocked on the door and Jade let them in herself?" Jerome said.

"How would they know if Jade was awake though?" Sky asked. "For all they knew, Jade could have been sleeping..."

 _No, Jade_ _was_ _probably_ _awake. She_ _was_ _probably..._

1\. In the bathroom  
2\. Sleepwalking in the hallways  
 **3\. Reading**

"Jade liked reading at night," Seto recalled. "The killer probably knew this and planned accordingly."

"Yeah, you _would_ know..." Ryan muttered. "How do you know she was reading _last night_?

"I have proof." Seto presented the photo of the book lying on the nightstand, its pages pressed against the wooden surface. "Jade was must have been reading when the killer knocked on her door, so she put the book down like that and answered it."

"But how was the killer so sure that she'd be reading at that time?" Steven asked.

"If she was sleeping, then the killer could have just tried again the next night," Seto answered.

"Why would Jade open the door though?" Bonks asked. "It was in the middle of the night. Wouldn't she question why someone was knocking on her door that late?"

Seto's face twisted in pain and he looked away. "Jade _was_ the one who trusted everybody the most..." he whispered. "She denied that someone was planning a murder many times..."

"The killer must have known this and taken advantage of that fact..." Jordan murmured sadly.

There was a heartrending silence as everyone realized what a terrible betrayal this was. Jade was someone who had looked up to all of them, believed in them, trusted them...

In the end, they had all failed her.

"What do we do now?" Jason asked quietly. "Are there any other clues? If not, then the only suspect we have is Seto."

Seto's face paled. "There- There has to be something else-"

"Is there really?" Ryan asked skeptically. "Because if there isn't, then maybe we should vote-"

"Hold on!" Bodil said desperately. "Maybe we should go over it again! Maybe we missed something!"

"Why are you defending him?" Ryan questioned. "Did you help him or something?"

Bodil shook his head. "No, but I... I can't believe Seto would..."

"Can you believe _any_ one of us did it?!" Ryan said, scoffing. "I can't either, but that still doesn't change the fact that someone here is a murderer. Someone here betrayed our trust and is trying to get us all executed. All of the friendships we had..." Here his voice cracked and he lowered his gaze before clenching his fists. "...they don't matter right now!"

"Why do you keep accusing _Seto_?!" Husky demanded. "From the very beginning, you've been blaming him based on one assumption!"

"It's almost like _you're_ the one hiding something," Tyler noted. "Is that why you keep blaming Seto?"

"Tyler, what are you implying?" Mitch hissed, his voice unusually deadly.

Ryan was silent. His face was devoid of color and his eyes seemed vacant.

"Ryan, you have an answer, right?" Jerome asked quietly.

Hunched over his stand, Ryan stared at the floor. A gloomy shadow crossed his face. "I'm sorry Seto... I just... want this to be over..." Ryan whispered. "Trials, murders, executions... It's all too much... I just want this to end already... I don't even care what happens anymore... Whether we get this right or not... I don't care..." He closed his eyes. "I just want this to be over, okay?! I don't want to do this at all!"

"Hey, hey, stop getting off track!" MonoWither yelled in annoyance from their throne. "Spare the sentimental stuff for later; we have a crime to solve! Wouldn't it be a shame if we made you guys all vote now just because you ran out of time?" The deadly words hung heavy in the air like toxic smoke.

"We're still no closer to figuring this out," Sky murmured anxiously. "It's hopeless! We'll never find the killer!"

"Don't think like that," Ashley said. "I think I've got an idea."

"You know who the killer is?" Jordan asked hopefully.

"No, of course not, but I was thinking about the blood. Could some of Jade's blood have gotten on the killer?"

"But since Jade only coughed up the blood, most of it probably ended up on the floor, unless she was close enough to cough some blood on the killer's clothes," Husky noted. "Other than that, there's no evidence that suggests that the killer ever came into contact with the blood besides trying to frame Seto, which we haven't even confirmed yet."

Mitch and Seto both looked at each other, remembering the same thing at the same time. "There were bloody fingerprints on the light switch and the wall around it. Mitch and Jerome showed them to me," Seto said as he presented the photo.

"Jade couldn't have made those marks, she wouldn't have had the strength to go across the room," Annie realized with a start. "So that means..."

"...the killer is the one who made the marks," Jerome finished.

"But why would the killer touch the wall and the light switch?" Steven wondered aloud. "Were they trying to turn off the lights? It looks like they had a lot of trouble doing it for some reason..."

Seto stroked his chin, thinking carefully. "No, I think they were trying to turn the lights _on_."

"What makes you say that?" Jordan asked.

"I remember Jade once said that she liked reading with only the lamp on," Seto recalled. "After the killer attacked her- I say after, because poisons are usually thrown when the victim's back is turned to prevent the victim from dodging them, so Jade wouldn't have been able to defend herself beforehand- we know she swung the lamp at least twice: the first time knocking off the lampshade, the second time shattering the light bulb. After the light bulb broke, the killer was left in total darkness since the lights on the ceiling weren't on. The killer must have felt their way along the wall until they found the light switch and turned it on, but didn't think to wipe the traces off afterwards. It was foolish of them to overlook something like that."

"How did the killer get blood on their hands though?" Ashley asked.

"Well it's probably not from the killer themselves," Seto reasoned. "I don't think the glass from the light bulb cut them, since if it did then the killer would probably have noticeable cuts or torn clothing. If Jade was trying to attack the killer, she might have tried to grab onto them before her strength gave way..."

"Okay, but how did Jade get that much blood on _her_ hands?" Tyler questioned.

"Lots of ways," Seto murmured, shivering as dreadful thoughts entered his mind. He shook his head to clear it. He had to stay focused. He couldn't let his emotions get in the way. "She might have wiped her mouth with her hand, coughed into her palm, something like that."

"Sounds like you know a lot about how people react to getting poisoned..." Ryan muttered.

_Sadly, I do._

"Okay, but how does this help us in any way?" Bonks asked in a shaky voice, pink eyes filled with fear. The descriptions had clearly disturbed her.

Seto rested his hands down on the podium stand. "Well, I think this is sufficient proof that I'm _not_ the killer."

Everyone was stunned. "Wait, really?" Sky asked.

Seto nodded. "Yes. Annie and Ashley can back me up."

"We can?" Annie asked, confused.

"When we were checking the elevator shaft, I used a light spell so that we could see what was inside. If I was the killer, and the light bulb broke, then I wouldn't have tried turning on the lights like that." Sweat dampened Seto's forehead as he prayed that his argument would hold.

Ashley's eyes widened in realization. "It wouldn't make sense for you to waste time trying to find the light switch in the dark when you could just use that spell..."

"Exactly! So I'm not the killer!"

"Hmm, I think that's a sound argument," Tyler murmured thoughtfully.

"I also think what Seto said makes sense, but does anyone else have any objections?" Husky asked.

"I don't," Annie admitted.

Ryan sighed. "Me neither, I guess..." he said.

Slight relief washed over Seto as everyone nodded in agreement. "See, I knew Seto wouldn't kill anyone!" Bodil stated, smiling.

"I'm glad Seto isn't the killer," Sky said, also smiling for a few moments before frowning, "but then who is? Now we don't have any suspects at all..."

"We know the real killer framed Seto by using Jade's hand..." Mitch murmured.

"Unless the killer somehow disguised themselves," Tyler said.

There was a moment's pause as everyone turned their heads to stare at Tyler. "How would they even be able to do that in the first place?" Jordan asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Uh... I'm not so sure actually..." Tyler said after thinking about it for awhile. "Heh heh, sorry..."

"Okay, so the killer framed Seto by writing his name, but who?" Jerome asked.

No one could answer that question. "Is it true?" Sky whispered. "Is this really hopeless after all?"

"What if we don't find the killer?" Jason said, starting to panic. "We'll all be killed!"

"We're all going to die..." Husky whispered, a dark shadow crossing his face. "Everyone except the killer..."

"D-Don't talk like that!" Tyler yelled, sweating profusely. "If you do, then _I'm_ going to start losing hope..."

"Wait!" Bonks suddenly cried out, startling everyone. Then she cleared her throat nervously. "Sorry, but I was just thinking... Did the thief have anything to do with this? Because they were the only one we know who was trying to murder someone."

"The thief and the killer might not even be the same person," Mitch noted.

"But- Bu if they are, and we figure out who the thief is, then that'll lead us to the killer, right?" Bonks asked.

"I don't think it would hurt to try..." Jerome said finally. "We've got nothing else."

"I personally think that the thief and the killer are one and the same," Seto murmured.

"How do you know for sure?" Sky asked.

"Potions are 80 WitherCoins. To obtain that amount, I think..." Seto shook his head. "...no, I'm _positive_ that you'd have to steal from other people."

"That makes sense," Bodil admitted quietly.

"Now, I recall MonoWither mentioning 'MonoWither's Special Poison', which he said costs 100 WitherCoins, but there's really no reason to believe that the thief even bought that."

Annie's eyes widened. "Actually..." she said, reaching into her pocket, "I was examining the remains of the Splash Potion when I found this." She pulled out a bundle of tissues and delicately unwrapped it to show a particularly large glass shard. She held it up to reveal the label printed on it: MONOWITHER'S SPECIAL POISON. "I wasn't sure if it was important to the case, but I kept it anyway just in case," she explained hesitantly. "I didn't know it was worth more than a regular potion..."

"Well of course it's worth more than a regular potion!" MonoWither remarked from their throne. "It's our one-and-only _special_ poison, personally crafted with tender love and care! Oh, we're so glad its buyer took the effort to purchase it and put it to good use..."

"Shut up!" Sky snapped, startling everyone. "Stop talking about all this like it's just... just... fun and games to you!"

"Oh, but we're your hosts! It _is_ fun and games to us!" MonoWither stated giddily.

"What MonoWither basically meant was that the thief and the killer are indeed the same person," Seto said with his fists clenched, trying his best not to let MonoWither aggravate his nerves. "Therefore, if we take this fact into consideration, then we might find something vital to the case."

Jordan piped in. "Before we get to that, I think we suspected Seto to the point where we overlooked the obvious things to discuss. No doubt this was the killer's plan when they framed Seto for the crime. For example, Bonks' suggestion that the thief could be related to the killer should have been thought of earlier, but we didn't because we all subconsciously believed that Seto was the killer. Another thing we should have thought of earlier, and I think we should talk about first, was our alibis for the time of the murder; which, now that I think about it, we don't even know."

"1:18 a.m. It said on the MonoWither File," Mitch replied.

"I thought alibis were ruled out because the killer could be working with someone," Steven pointed out.

"No, we said that for the thief, not the killer. We know now that the thief and the killer are the same person, but still: I don't think the killer had an ally."

"Why not?" Ashley asked.

"I was thinking about what would happen if someone were to help another person murder someone," Jordan said, turning to MonoWither. "MonoWither, only the murderer gets to leave, right? But what about their ally? Would they be executed as well or join the killer?"

"Good question, Jordan!" MonoWither remarked. "Allies are allowed, but only the one who lands the killing blow gets to leave!"

"But what if the killer _did_ have an ally and they didn't know they wouldn't get anything out of it?" Annie asked.

"Ugh, there's no allies in this particular case, okay? No allies for the killer, no allies for the thief, absolutely none!" MonoWither said with annoyance. "You guys are taking so long! You're like a fanfic writer who takes forever to update, like Jade! Well, we guess that now she's dead those fanfics of hers will be discontinued forever..."

Quite a few people looked visibly angry at MonoWither's statement, but said nothing.

"So I guess alibis _can_ be verified by other people," Jason murmured.

"Ryan and I were in Mitch's room," Jerome stated. "We didn't feel safe being alone, so..."

"...there's our alibis," Ryan finished for him.

"I guess that rules out Mitch, Jerome, and Ryan," Husky concluded. "Anyone else?"

No one spoke for a moment. "Well, I was sleeping in my room, but I don't think anyone can confirm that," Sky said hesitantly.

"Same for me..." Tyler said.

"I guess that's it for alibis during the murder, then," Jordan declared. "We should move on to the thief and discuss all we know about them first."

Steven nodded. "Two days ago, Dave received a note telling him to go to the trash room at midnight. The thief then blindfolded Dave, stole his WitherCoins, and then left him there. We found him a little bit before 7 yesterday."

"Later that afternoon, at around 3," Seto continued, "I was heading over to the shop for clues before the thief attacked me by hitting me on the head with an unknown object. While I was unconscious, the thief stole my WitherCoins as well as the note and the blindfold. Since I was found at around 4 by Husky, Jordan, and Jason, they had a time window of about an hour to dispose of the evidence and go somewhere else."

There was silence as everyone chewed over these facts. "Well, didn't we say that I was in the clear as the thief?" Steven asked, tapping his fingers nervously. "Doesn't that mean I'm not the killer?"

"Yeah, we just need to confirm that you didn't lie about what happened to Dave," Ryan muttered.

Steven looked horrified. "I wouldn't do that!"

Dave hurled a stick at Ryan, missing by quite a few feet as it clattered onto the floor in the center of the circle. Where the zombie had even gotten that stick, no one had a clue.

Bart suddenly began to tremble violently where he stood as he emitted a unearthly growl that sent shivers down everyone's spines. The Enderman stared down at Ryan, continuing to snarl at the poor man. Ryan looked like he was about drop down to the floor and faint on the spot. "On- On second thought..." the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Warden stammered, tittering while scratching the back of his neck, "...I take that back, Steven couldn't have done that. My bad."

Bart immediately relaxed and resumed his usual indifferent manner, although he still glared at Ryan with disapproval.

Seto blinked rapidly. "... _Anyway_..." he said, quickly diverting the topic. "Maybe we should discuss alibis for yesterday afternoon at 3, since that's when I was attacked."

"I was in the main hall talking with Jason," Husky said.

"We were still in Mitch's room," Jerome said, gesturing to Ryan and Mitch.

"Seto, you saw me enter my room right before you walked out of the hallway, right?" Ashley asked.

Seto nodded. "I saw you. Also, Bodil can be accounted for, since he was still in his room before I left the hallway."

"That leaves Tyler, Sky, Jordan, Bonks, and me as suspects for the killer," Annie murmured. "What now?"

Seto turned to face Jason. "Who found me first?"

"Well, Husky and I were heading back to our rooms when we saw you lying there. Husky told me to find any other people in the building, but I only found Jordan. He was in the conference room for some reason..." Jason said, his eyes widening as a thought crossed his mind. He was not the only one with the same thought.

Jordan seemed to realize this as well, but his face did not change one bit. He merely smiled placidly as he gazed back at the pairs of eyes that were now looking at him with suspicion.

"What were you doing in there by yourself?" Sky asked, eyebrows raised.

Jordan blinked at him. "Is that important?" he asked curtly.

"Well of course it's important!" Ryan yelled. "For all we know, you could have gone there after knocking Seto out!"

"And why would I do that?" Jordan countered. "Wouldn't it have been better to return to my room instead of remaining out there in the open?"

"Jordan, just tell us why you were in there..." Steven said quietly.

Jordan sighed reluctantly. "I suppose there's no use hiding it or lying about it. To tell you the truth, I was looking for MonoWither's prize."

The reaction was a mix of horror and surprise. "You mean the bag of 30 WitherCoins?" Jerome asked.

Jordan nodded. "But unfortunately, I never found it."

"Can you prove that?" Ashley murmured.

Jordan pursed his lips together. "I'm afraid not."

"If you didn't plan on murdering someone, then why would you look for it?" Mitch asked skeptically.

"To protect us from the thief," Jordan replied. "I had no intention of ever buying something from the shop and murdering someone. I don't blame you at all for suspecting me, but just keep in mind what I said earlier: Don't let your assumptions cloud your judgment."

There was an uncomfortable silence. "Let's not jump to conclusions just yet," Seto urged. "There's not enough concrete evidence. Plus, there's still a lot we haven't discussed."

"Like what?" Tyler asked.

"Like what weapon they used to attack me. It wasn't found near my body, so the thief must have taken it with them. It would have been large enough to knock me out for several hours."

"Maybe it was something from the shop?" Bonks suggested. "I remember when I went into the shop for the first time a few days ago, MonoWither said that they had decided to start selling crowbars for 30 WitherCoins..." She shuddered at this awful memory.

"Maybe, but as Jason said before, the thief probably wanted to save as much money as possible. MonoWither's Special Poison cost 100 WitherCoins. They wouldn't have much to spend on other things."

"I think the thief disposed of the weapon using the incinerator in the trash room," Ashley said. "Bodil, remember what we found in there?"

"Oh yeah..." Bodil replied. "We found this burnt rectangular pile of metal..."

"Wait a minute, did you just say a _rectangular_ pile of metal?" Steven asked, his eyes wide in realization.

"Um, yeah, why?" Bodil asked, confused.

"Bart, Dave, and I went to the computer room during the investigation and noticed that two laptops were missing. We didn't think much of it at first, but now..."

"Why two though?" Mitch asked, tilting his head. "If my guessing is right, and the thief used a laptop to knock Seto out, then why were there two missing and not one?"

Steven's face grew melancholy. "Because... the other one was used by Seth..."

Seto shivered when he remembered the reason why there was nothing occupying the space to his right except for a black-and-white portrait.

"So... the thief grabbed a laptop, knocked Seto out with it, and disposed of it in the incinerator," Sky concluded in a hollow voice.

"They probably burned the blindfold and the letter along with it to get rid of the evidence," Jason said.

"Does this lead us any closer to finding the killer?" Jerome asked.

Ryan scoffed. "No, it just means there's a bunch of valuable pieces of evidence that we don't have because the killer was smart enough to get rid of them."

"Hmm," Seto thought aloud, concentrating. "The thief stole 38 coins from Dave and 7 coins from me... That's 45 coins... Which means that the thief must have obtained at least 55 coins in order to buy MonoWither's Special Poison."

"The thief must have found MonoWither's prize of 30 WitherCoins then," Bonks said.

"And Jordan is still our prime suspect for the thief..." Ashley muttered.

"I didn't find the bag of coins," Jordan insisted, his calm demeanor beginning to waver as his hands shook and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

"Prove it then!" Tyler yelled.

Jordan looked helpless before his eyes widened in realization. "Wait, the thief told Dave to go to the trash room at 12:00 midnight two days ago, right?"

"Y-Yeah, they did..." Steven replied.

Relief washed over Jordan. "Then I have an alibi for that time. Jason, you can confirm it, right?"

Jason nodded. "I... uh... I couldn't really fall asleep that night, so I went to Jordan and we talked for a bit... It was around 11:45 or so... I left at around 12:10..."

"Meaning that I didn't steal from Dave, and thus, I'm not the thief," Jordan stated. "Any objections to that?"

"No," Ryan admitted. "But now we're back to square one..."

"We don't have a clue who found the prize..." Tyler murmured.

"Or who found the chest it was in..." Bodil said quietly.

Seto's face paled as his mind processed what Bodil had just said. "Bodil?" he asked, shocked horror lacing his voice.

"What?" he replied, confused.

"How... How did you know the prize was in a chest? MonoWither only said that the prize was a bag of coins..."

All eyes immediately turned to stare at the SDML Traceur. Bodil looked like a deer in the headlights as his eyes widened in horror. "That's- That's what I meant to say!" he stammered. "I meant to say 'bag', not 'chest'! Who found the chest the bag of coins was in- I mean-" He immediately clamped his hands over his mouth and trembled on the spot, realizing the two big slip-ups he had made.


	12. Clouded Judgment

Bodil clutched his yellow tie tightly, quivering as all the attention was shifted to him.

"So it was _you_?!" Annie asked, stunned.

"It wasn't me, I swear..." Bodil whimpered, his accent sounding even heavier than usual as his voice shook.

"Can you prove that's the truth?" Ryan asked skeptically.

"I don't know if I can..."

"Bodil..." Bonks whispered in absolute disbelief.

Bodil began to sob in terror. "R-Really... It wasn't me... I'm not the thief..."

"Then how did you know that the prize was in a chest?" Husky asked.

The poor man began to hyperventilate. "Because- Because-"

"Because you're the thief," Mitch said quietly.

"And that makes you the killer..." Jerome murmured.

Bodil shook his head desperately. His knuckles were white as his hands wrung his tie into a sweaty rope, reminding Seto of someone about to be hung by his neck on a noose. "No... I didn't do it... I'm not the killer..."

"Then say something!" Ashley shrieked, her tone strangely unsettled. There was no mistaking the horrified expression on her face. "Stop panicking and tell us how you knew there was a chest!"

Bodil swallowed and nodded. "It- It was yesterday... At 8 pm or so... I was in that room by the main hall where we all woke up... I looked at the fireplace and realized that there was a chest hidden behind the flames, so I..." Bodil inhaled shakily. "...I put out the flames and opened the chest, but nothing was in there. MonoWither suddenly appeared and said that I was too late, because someone had already found the bag of coins..."

"Why were you in that room in the first place?" Jason demanded.

"I- I- I was just..."

"Looking for the prize," Jordan finished for him. "Like me."

Bodil stared shamefully down at the floor. "But not for the same reason..." he admitted quietly.

"Well if you're truly not the thief like you claim to be, then why didn't you tell us this earlier in the trial?" Sky asked.

"Because I was scared you'd all start suspecting me!" Bodil shouted hysterically. "Like- Like what you did with Seto and Jordan! What if you all voted for me?! We'd all get executed and it'd be my fault!"

"Or maybe you were just trying to hide the fact that you're not innocent at all!" Ryan said accusingly.

"No I am! I'm innocent!" Bodil shrieked, throwing his arms over his head. "I'm not the thief, please don't vote for me!"

"If you're not the thief, then why didn't you tell somebody that you found the chest where the prize was in?" Tyler demanded.

"I- I don't know, I was just so scared, I didn't know what to do-"

"Likely story!" Jason interrupted.

"I'M NOT THE THIEF!" Bodil screamed, his voice raw with desperation. There was silence as Bodil's voice rang throughout the courtroom. Bodil breathed raggedly. There were dark bags underneath his eyes.

"Bodil..." Seto murmured sympathetically.

"I'M REALLY NOT!"

"Bodil, relax," Seto said slowly. "Calm down. It's okay."

"I DIDN'T DO IT! I DIDN'T DO IT!" At this point, Bodil looked as though he was on the verge of collapsing. Maybe it was because he was hyperventilating so much.

"Take deep breaths now..."

Bodil tried to obey. "I... I didn't... do it..." He crossed his arms over his chest and sniffled. "I didn't... I swear..."

"I know you didn't do it," Seto said, lowering his hands with his palms facing downwards. "Just calm down."

Slight relief flashed across Bodil's face. "You... You believe me?"

"Remember your alibi? You can't have been the one who attacked me..."

"But his alibi was that he was still in his room right before you left the hallway, right?" Mitch asked. "He could have waited until you were gone and then rushed out to hit you with the laptop."

"That doesn't sound likely," the sorcerer rebuked. "How could he have timed that perfectly? How could he have known I would try to talk to him outside of his room? Plus, he'd have to have a laptop with him already, before our discussion of the thief, which would imply that he somehow planned the whole thing beforehand."

"...True..." Mitch admitted.

"So Bodil isn't the killer?" Ashley asked hopefully.

"It seems like it," Steven replied.

"But why didn't you just tell us you found the chest that night?!" Husky shouted. "We might have been able to prevent Jade's murder if you told us the thief had the prize!"

Bodil clutched his head with his fingers, digging his nails into the skin. "I wanted to..." he said quietly. "I wanted to tell, I really did but- but MonoWither said that no one would believe me if I said I wasn't the thief!" He started to panic again. "MonoWither said that you'd all accuse me of pretending to just 'find' the chest! And- And even if you did believe me, the real thief would get mad and then kill me somehow!" Bodil drew in several sharp gasps as he clutched his arms tightly. "And then... MonoWither said that they already knew who the thief was targeting... They winked at me and said that maybe I had a chance of surviving the night if I stayed in my room, locked the door, and didn't open it for anybody..."

His breath hitched in his throat. "I was so scared, I didn't know what to do... I couldn't sleep at all... I thought the killer was targeting me and that I was going to die! But instead of me... the killer went after Jade instead... and now... now she's..." He drew in several sharp gasps before burying his face in his hands and breaking down into terrified sobs.

"Aw, you really believed all that stuff we said?" MonoWither sneered, all three heads grinning. "Wow Bodil, we were just messing around and teasing you for not winning the prize! You're such a wimp! Men aren't supposed to cry like babies!"

"Hey, leave him alone!" Ryan snapped. "He can cry if he wants to, goddamnit!"

"But fear is absolutely no excuse for keeping the thief's secret! We guess in a way we lied when we said there was no ally... There's one right here because technically he helped the murderer accomplish their goal of murdering Jade! All because he was too much of a coward, too concerned for his own life instead of those of his friends..." Bodil flinched and whimpered in shame at this statement.

"Shut the fuck up!" Ashley yelled, her eyes ablaze with fury. " _You're_ the coward for telling Bodil all that and scaring him for no good reason!"

"Yeah, you wanted this murder to happen, didn't you?" Jason asked, glaring at MonoWither. "You didn't want Bodil interfering, so you did whatever you could to prevent him from telling the rest of us..."

Tyler's eyes widened in realization. "You _asshole_!"

MonoWither giggled. "Well we _are_ your hosts! It's our job to provide entertainment for the audience! If you don't like our methods, then too bad! Deal with it!"

"Fuck you!" Husky snapped.

"That was low, even for you, MonoWither..." Jordan muttered.

"Why are you all treating us like _we're_ the monsters? Don't forget: there's a killer amongst the 13 of you that you still need to find... Unless you still think it's Bodil!" MonoWither laughed as Bodil gave a start and yelped in horror. "Well what are you waiting for?! Get back to the trial! Come on!"

There was a tense silence before they obeyed MonoWither's order.

"Well, we've narrowed down the only possible suspects to Tyler, Sky, Annie, and Bonks..." Jerome noted. Said four suspects all glanced around nervously except for Tyler, who seemed completely unfazed.

"Maybe we should discuss the scene of the murder again," Seto suggested. "We might have missed something. Mitch, Jerome..." The two people turned to him the moment he said their names. "...did you see anybody acting suspicious during the investigation of Jade's room? Three of the suspects were investigating with us, so..."

"We noticed that Annie took a glass shard, but we were only planning on pointing that out if she never mentioned it," Mitch said.

"Other than that, there wasn't any tampering with the crime scene," Jerome reported.

"Okay, so did anyone find anything strange in the room?" Seto asked.

"Um, Sky and I searched the shower room, but there wasn't anything special in there..." Tyler said.

"Besides the glass shards, I didn't notice anything that hasn't been pointed out by now," Annie said.

"I was just examining the body," Husky murmured.

"I... I might have found something, but I'm not sure if it's relevant at all..." Ryan admitted.

"Anything could be important at this point. Just say it," Seto urged.

Ryan sighed. "Okay, well, I was looking through the drawers and I noticed that Jade's sewing kit was open. One of the spools of thread was used and the others weren't. I didn't think much of it since for all we know, Jade used it for her own purposes..."

"No, that can't be it," Bonks said, shaking her head. "I remember we were talking about cosplaying once and she complained that she didn't know how to sew at all." She stared down at her feet, saddened. "She... she wanted me to teach her someday..."

_So that means that the only person who could have used it is..._

1\. Jade  
 **2\. The killer**  
3\. MonoWither

"Only the killer could have used that spool of thread," Seto stated.

"But why would they use it?" Jason asked, bewildered.

"Maybe when Jade attacked the killer with the lamp, she was too weak and too short to hit them on the head, so she ended up hitting their torso, and the glass from the light bulb slightly tore the killer's clothes..." Jordan murmured. "But the tear wouldn't have been _that_ big, so I don't think we can just examine everyone's clothes to find stitches..."

As everyone discussed this amongst themselves, Seto thought long and hard. The number of clues they had were quickly running out; for all he knew, this was the last piece of evidence that the killer hadn't managed to dispose of. He needed to think of something! The answer had to be there!

Bodil glanced at him nervously, as though searching for reassurance. In that moment, an idea suddenly popped into Seto's head. If there were no clues, then maybe... maybe he could lead the killer into revealing themselves by accident...

It was a shot in the dark, but if it worked...

"That spool of thread is extremely important," Seto said, swallowing down his apprehension. "The answer to this case lies in this very clue."

"It's _that_ crucial?" Husky asked skeptically.

Seto nodded. "In fact, I've already figured out who the killer is."

"You have?!" Steven exclaimed. "Who is it then?!"

"Figure it out for yourselves," Seto replied. Of course, he had no idea who the killer was, but hopefully that comment had put the killer on edge. If the killer was nervous, then it'd be easier for them to make a mistake. "If you just focus on the spool of thread, the killer will be obvious."

He felt like he was casting a fishing line, waiting for someone to take the bait.

"Um, if you say so..." Annie said, her eyebrows raised.

"What's so important about a spool of thread?" Mitch wondered aloud.

"Beats me..." Jerome muttered, shrugging his shoulders.

"Maybe he's implying that neither Bonks nor Annie did it, since they're girls and they would have gone back to their own rooms to use their own sewing kits?" Steven offered.

"Yeah, that makes sense, right?" Bonks said hopefully, clearly desperate for any clue that would acquit her of being the killer.

"But that'd leave only me and Sky!" Tyler shouted. "And I can assure you that neither of us did it! This thread thing is complete nonsense!"

"That's right!" Sky yelled. "I don't see why this random **spool of gray thread** is so special anyway!"

Seto felt like all the air had been knocked out of him, like the carpet had been pulled from under his feet. His heart plummeted like a stone in water.

**> >>-RYAN'S-TESTIMONY-** **>** **((SPOOL OF GRAY THREAD))**

The fishing line had been pulled. Someone had taken the bait. And that someone was...

"Sky..." Seto whispered, thunderstruck. "What did you just say?"

"Huh?" Sky asked in a confused voice. "Did I say something wrong?"

Seto's voice shook. "How did you know that the thread was gray-colored?"

Ryan stared at Sky as though something had just dawned in his mind. "Yeah, I never said anything about the color... And the thread _was_ gray..."

Sky's eyes widened and all the blood drained from his face as he realized the terrible mistake he'd just made. "I- Well- I-" he stammered.

"C-Come on, Seto..." Tyler said, laughing uneasily under his breath. "Sky probably saw it during the investigation..."

"No he didn't," Mitch said, his amber eyes hardening as he looked at Sky. "Jerome and I didn't see Sky look through the drawers. Only Ryan did."

"And you _would_ use gray thread..." Ashley said quietly, staring at the gray shirt Sky was wearing.

"I- I- I borrowed the thread from Jade!" Sky declared angrily. "A few days ago, I snagged my shirt against something and it tore, so I went to Jade and asked to borrow it!"

"Snagged against what?" Annie asked. "Be more specific and we'll believe you!"

"That doesn't matter!" Sky snapped. "I don't remember anyway!"

"I think, in your current situation, that it _does_ matter," Jordan murmured.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?!" Tyler shrieked. "Sky would never kill someone! Jade must have been killed by someone else!"

"Yeah! Where's your proof?!" Sky demanded, glaring at the rest of the people.

"Now- Now that I think about it..." Jason said, his eyes as wide as saucers. "The night that the thief stole from Dave... I actually knocked on your door first, before Jordan's, but you never answered... I thought you were just sleeping, but..."

"I _was_ sleeping!" Sky insisted. "You know I'm a deep sleeper!"

Jason bit his lip, still looking conflicted.

"I thought it was odd how Jade's message looked so disjointed..." Husky said, sounding as though he was admitting something he had been denying in his head the whole time. "If you look at it, the 'S' looks far messier than the rest of the letters, don't you think? And Jade probably wrote it when it was completely dark, so she couldn't see what she was doing... Maybe... Maybe she was writing your name at first... But she never finished it before she succumbed to the poison..."

"That would explain why he tried to frame Seto," Jerome pointed out in a faint voice. "Both names start with an 'S', and no one would believe it if the name was Steven's because of what happened to Dave."

Sky looked thunderstruck. "You're all accusing me based off of stupid assumptions!"

"They seem too coincidental to just be assumptions," Ashley remarked.

"How can you believe I'm the killer?! How can you believe _any one of us_ killed Jade?! Do you really think any of us could do something as horrible, as awful as this?! Think about it!" Sky yelled.

Everyone fell silent as they processed this. "You're... you're right..." Bodil whispered. "There's no way that one of us could kill someone..."

"I've known you all for years..." Bonks murmured. "I can't imagine any of you doing this..."

"MonoWither's got to be behind all this!" Sky continued, jabbing his finger at the machine on their throne. "They're obviously trying to set us up against each other for their own sick entertainment!"

"What?!" MonoWither exclaimed. "What kind of nonsense is this?!"

"You have to be the one who killed Jade!" Sky declared.

"That's right!" Tyler yelled from a few stands away.

"Oh, is that what you all think?!" MonoWither asked, insulted. "We, your ever so gracious hosts, just up and killed Jade?! Fine, vote for us then! Do it if you dare! But if you're wrong, then the real killer goes free and the rest of you perish!"

"Yeah, it's obviously MonoWither!" Steven said, smiling in relief. "There's no way any one of us could do this!"

A dark shadow crossed Seto's face as he closed his eyes. Perhaps _this_ was the right answer. Yes, this had to be it... After all, Sky wouldn't kill someone. None of his friends were capable of killing someone. It was all MonoWither's fault! This was the truth, it had to be!

And yet... And yet...

Seto opened his eyes and found himself looking straight at Jade's portrait, which was directly in front of him. MonoWither's throne was positioned behind her spot, and he could somehow feel the machine's eyes staring directly at him. _"Someone... planning on killing someone else? I won't believe it! There's just no way!"_ Jade's voice echoed in his mind. Seto briefly wondered if she was a ghost in their midst watching them right now. If so, what would she be saying? Would she be encouraging everyone to vote for MonoWither? Or would she be saying something else...

_"Sometimes... I think that Fate is a card player, always shuffling the deck of our lives... And we can't control what order we get. We just have to go with what we have..."_

_"It's just too cruel... But then again, the world's always been a cruel place, right? I think the hardest part about being a writer is describing all the goodness, the badness, and all the stuff in between..."_

"Sky..." Seto said, swallowing down the lump in his throat. "If you're really not the killer, then say something that proves you're not."

Sky turned his head to face him. "...Seto, do I really look like a killer to you?"

"I... I..." Seto stammered, clearly distraught.

"Why are you doubting me?" Sky asked, desperation etched onto his face. "Don't- Don't you trust me?! Do you really believe that I'm capable of something like this?!"

Seto looked away, consumed with pain. "Of course I don't want to believe it, Sky! You're my friend! My very first friend! I've known you for so long... I've known you for years... But..."

"But what?! Do you trust somehow MonoWither more than me?!"

"Of course not, you know that!"

"Then why do you keep doubting me?!" Sky shouted.

Seto clutched the podium stand tightly. "Because I _want_ to believe you!" he shrieked wildly, his voice echoing throughout the courtroom. Sky's eyes widened and he fell silent. "I... I want to believe you... I really do..." Seto said quietly, taking deep breaths. "I want to stop doubting you... But I can only do that if you just say the truth! I need the truth, Sky!"

"You want me to say the truth?! All right then! I'll say the truth!" Sky yelled. "If one of us is really the killer, then where did all the blood go, huh?"

"Wh- What do you mean?" Ryan asked.

"The blood! We all agreed that some blood must have gotten on the killer, right?! Well do you see anyone with bloodstains on their clothes?! There's no way the killer could have washed them off during Night Time, and they couldn't have disposed of their clothes because the trash room was off limits at that time! Which means that **none of us** could be the killer!"

**> >>-SEVEN-AM-** **>** **((NONE OF US))**

"No, Sky..." Seto murmured from across the circle. "The killer could have just waited until 7 AM, when Night Time ends and the water turns on. They could have washed their clothes that way and used the blow dryer to dry their clothes before putting them on again."

"That could have been anyone!" Sky yelled. "That doesn't mean _I_ did it!"

"But the killer used _gray_ thread to sew the tear, right? And as Ashley pointed out, you're wearing gray..."

"Well other people are wearing gray as well!" Sky retorted. "Just look at Ryan and Husky! Hell, you're wearing gray too!"

"But none of us are liable to be the killer," Seto countered. "Out of the four remaining suspects, Bonks and Annie are wearing white, Tyler's wearing a red-and-gray hoodie, and you're the only one wearing full-on gray!"

Sky fought down his rising panic. "O-Okay, then tell me this: If one of us killed Jade, then how did they get 100 MonoWither Coins?! Do the math! 38 coins from Dave, 7 coins from Seto, 30 coins from the prize, that all adds up to be 75 coins! Where the hell did the killer get 25 more coins, huh? Don't tell me they just found them lying around somewhere!"

"That's true..." Ashley admitted.

"The thief didn't get 100 coins... So they couldn't have bought MonoWither's Special Poison..." Jordan murmured.

"Exactly!" Sky screamed. "There's **no possible way** anyone of us got those coins!"

**> >>-MONOWITHER'S-SPECIAL-OFFER-** **>** **((NO POSSIBLE WAY))**

"No... there is _one_ way..." Seto recalled. "Remember when we entered the shop for the first time? Tyler, you were there too. You know that MonoWither clearly said this to the three of us..."

_"We're feeling extra generous today, so here you go!" They levitated a bag of coins and tossed it at the three. "30 WitherCoins to divide amongst yourselves!"_

Tyler's pupils dilated when the memory came to mind.

Sky's face paled. "That- That-"

"30 WitherCoins," Seto continued. "That'd be more than enough to get the thief 100 WitherCoins in total, right? Did anyone else get this offer?"

Everyone else shook their heads.

"Nope, they did not!" MonoWither exclaimed. "You three were the first ones to enter the shop, so that was why we offered those coins to you!"

"Now, Tyler could have been the one to accept the offer, but he had no reason to use only use gray thread. He would have also had to use red thread, and Ryan already testified that the gray thread was the only one used. Sky's the only person who could have accepted this offer _and_ committed the murder," Seto pointed out.

"These are all just assumptions!" Tyler shrieked, clearly losing his composure. "Why do you keep accusing Sky?! There's no solid evidence!"

"Really? Then let me go over the whole case one more time, from the beginning to the end!" Seto said. "Maybe that'll make everything clear..."

Seto cleared his throat. "Two days ago, the culprit gave Dave a note telling him to go to the trash room at midnight. His plan was to steal the 38 WitherCoins Dave possessed. When Dave entered the hallway, the culprit snuck up behind the zombie and blindfolded him to ensure that Dave wouldn't see his identity. The culprit stole the coins and left, but did not expect that Dave would stay in the hallway. Thus, the rest of us found out that there was a thief in our midst.

"While we discussed this, MonoWither announced to everyone that they had a prize of 30 WitherCoins hidden somewhere. The thief heard this and decided to go looking for this prize. It is unknown when the thief found it, but he somehow managed to find it in a chest hidden in the fireplace. This meant that he had 68 coins.

"Later that afternoon, at three, the thief decided to hit two birds with one stone by knocking me out with a laptop. He stole the letter, the blindfold, as well as my seven WitherCoins. The culprit then went to the trash room and burned every piece of evidence in the incinerator, although the laptop did not burn completely in the flames.

"At this point, the culprit had 75 coins, but it still wasn't enough to buy MonoWither's Special Poison. However, he was fortunate enough to be one of the three people to whom Monowither offered 30 WitherCoins. The culprit took advantage of this offer and finally succeeded in obtaining the poison.

"Hours later, Night Time took effect. At around 1:15 AM, the killer knocked on Jade's door, assuming that Jade would be reading at that time instead of sleeping. He was right. Jade, who was reading with only the lamp on, opened the door for him. Unfortunately for her, she didn't suspect the culprit's true intentions when she let him enter. When Jade's back was turned, the culprit threw the Splash Potion at her. Before she collapsed to the floor, Jade retaliated by grabbing the lamp on the nightstand and hitting her assailant twice, shattering the light bulb and tearing the killer's clothes. She also coughed up blood, which stained the killer's clothes and hands.

"Since the light bulb was the only source of light before it broke, the killer couldn't see anymore. The killer fumbled for the light switch in the darkness, leaving bloody fingerprints along the wall and making the mistake of not getting rid of them afterwards. While the lights were off, Jade used her remaining strength by attempting to write the name of her killer, but only managed to write the first letter before... she died. After turning the lights on, the culprit saw the 'S' and attempted to frame me by using Jade's hand to write my name with the blood near her finger.

"Finally, the murderer had to deal with the tear in his gray shirt. He used a needle and gray thread from Jade's sewing kit to sew the tear together. Afterwards, the killer put the sewing kit back in the drawer and left the room. He waited for Night Time to end before washing his bloodstained clothes and drying them. After that, he had successfully finished his crime. This is the truth behind Jade's murder. And the only one who could have committed this act is..." Seto pointed at Sky from across the circle. "...none other than Sky!"

There was complete, stunned silence. "I- I-" Sky stammered, fumbling for words.

"None of that indicated that Sky is the killer!" Tyler insisted frantically.

"But all the clues point to him, if you just connect the pieces-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Tyler screamed. "I'm tired of all this! You're basing this all on theory, but there's no actual proof that Sky did it!"

Seto fought to keep his voice steady. He couldn't let his emotions get the best of him, no matter how much he didn't want to do this... "I'll gladly admit it if I'm wrong, but... according to the facts, the only one who could have committed this crime is Sky..."

Sky regained his ability to speak properly. "Well- Well- Well that's all still assumptions!" he shouted, his increasing agitation getting the better of him. "Do you have any surefire way to pin this crime on me? Do you? No you don't, because I'm not the killer!"

"The only one who could have gotten 100 WitherCoins is you-"

"SHUT UP!" Sky shrieked, slamming his fists against the podium stand. "YOU DON'T HAVE ANY FUCKING PROOF!"

Seto had to fight to get his words in. "Besides Ryan, the only one who knew the thread was gray was you-"

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING!" Sky was beyond listening to reason by now.

"And the appearance of Jade's message indicates that she was trying to write her killer's name, which started with an 'S'-"

"THAT'S ALL BULLSHIT! IT WASN'T ME! _IT WASN'T ME!_ "

Seto grit his teeth. No matter how much he didn't want to do this, he had to. All of their lives were at stake here. If proof was what Sky wanted, then proof was what Sky was going to get. "The first step of the killer's plan was to get Dave's WitherCoins."

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR POINT?!"

"The killer gave Dave a letter, telling him to go to the trash room at midnight."

"THERE'S **NO PROOF** THAT I GAVE DAVE THAT LETTER!"

"My point is that the killer must have torn a page from their notepad, which MonoWither handed out to everyone. So, Sky..."

**> >>-NOTEPAD-** **>** **((NO PROOF))**

"...can you show us your notepad in your room?"

Sky's face blanched and he stopped yelling. "Huh? My notepad...?" he asked quietly, cold sweat dripping down his face.

"If there are pages missing, and you don't have a proper explanation for what you used them for, then... it'll be obvious you're the killer."

Sky stared in horror at all the eyes that were staring at him expectantly. He began to tremble on the spot, hyperventilating as his words failed him once again. "Um... Um... Um..."

"Come on, Sky!" Tyler urged, his face equally pale. "Say something! Show him he's wrong! Seto has to be wrong!"

Sky merely stared at the shaking palms of his hands, as though he could still see the crimson blood that had stained them before.

"He can't, Tyler," Jordan murmured finally, gazing at Sky in sympathy.

Tyler whirled to face the songwriter. "What do you mean by that?!"

"He can't argue anymore," Mitch said quietly. "It's over."

"What do you mean it's over?!" Tyler demanded hysterically, still not listening to reason. "Sky's completely innocent! MonoWither's the one behind all this!" MonoWither laughed at Tyler's statement. Tyler growled in anger. "Stop laughing! It's obviously you!"

"We already know who killed Jade," Ashley said, a rather dark look on her face. "And no, it's not MonoWither, as much as I'd like to believe that."

Tyler shook his head in denial. "It's not Sky... It's not him..."

"Is that what you really think?" Jason asked him.

Tyler did not reply.

"N-No... You're wrong..." Sky stammered, his breath catching in his throat as his chest heaved, preventing him from speaking in a steady voice. "I... I didn't kill Jade... I would never, ever kill anyone... Please... Just believe me... " Tears began leaking from his eyes and his voice sunk to a mere whisper. "Believe... me..." A loud, keening wail was torn from his throat, raw with grief and agony, as he finally broke down. He sunk to his knees, clinging onto the podium stand with trembling hands as his uncontrollable sobs wracked his entire body.

Anguish twisted Seto's face as he shut his eyes tightly and looked away.


	13. Skewered Calamari

"Upupupu!" MonoWither exclaimed happily from their throne. "We guess it's finally time for the end of this Show Trial! Please use the lever in front of you and cast your vote! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?! Oh, and make sure you _actually_ vote for someone!"

Everybody hesitated as their hands hovered over their levers, listening as Sky's wails of agony filled the courtroom. Sky had murdered Jade, but was this the right thing to do, sacrificing their friend like this? They had all known Sky for years. He was always the cheerful, loyal, and compassionate one. He was a newlywed husband and father. They had never expected him to do something like this...

Ashley was the first one to move the lever and make her selection, but her face was troubled. Annie followed suit, choosing to stare down at the floor afterwards. Mitch, who was standing two spots away from Sky on the other side of Jade's portrait, released a long sigh before casting his vote. This led Jerome to reluctantly do the same before turning away. Ryan grit his teeth as he cast his vote, almost breaking off the lever in the process. Jordan was next, his hands shaking as though they were delivering the execution themselves. Husky slowly moved his lever to make his choice and held his breath afterwards. At the same time, Jason cast his vote while shutting his eyes tightly, refusing to look at what he was doing as he voted. Bonks looked like she was on the verge of breaking down as well when she cast her vote. Steven looked at Bart and Dave before shivering and moving the lever. Bodil let out a small whimper as he cast his vote.

Now Seto and Tyler were the only ones who hadn't voted. Seto stared at the screen in front of him, which had all of their names in a vertical list and a blinking arrow next to the first entry: Jade's name. Moving the lever up or down would make the arrow point at another name. He was clenching the lever tightly, but his arm refused to move. _Come_ _on_ _,_ _vote_ _for_ _him_ _!_ his mind screamed. _He's_ _the_ _killer_ _!_

 _But_ _..._ _Sky_ _is_ _going_ _to_ _die_ _if_ _I_ _do_ _this_ _..._

 _This_ _is_ _based_ _off_ _of_ _majority_ _rules and e_ _veryone's_ _already_ _voted_ _for_ _him_ _._ _Plus, y_ _ou're_ _the_ _one_ _who_ _caught him_ _!_ _This_ _is_ _already_ _your_ _fault_ _!_ _Just_ _finish_ _i_ _t_ _!_

Seto stared at Sky, whose sobs had reduced to mere sniffles. Still kneeling on the ground, Sky raised his head and looked up at Seto. His tearstained cheeks were blotched with red. Seto looked back at him before shutting his eyes tightly. "I'm sorry, Sky," Seto whispered remorsefully as he moved the lever to select Sky's name.

All eyes turned to Tyler as he stared with dilated pupils at the lever before him. "I... I can't... I can't do this..." Tyler said brokenly.

"Oh, just hurry up already!" MonoWither complained. "Come on, we want to get to the verdict!"

"Tyler..." Sky murmured.

Tyler looked at him. "Sky?"

Sky swallowed before nodding his head silently.

Tears slid down the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Drama Actor's face, tears that shone in the cold light of the courtroom, as he moved his lever and cast his vote.

Immediately a small table supporting a golden slot machine rose up in the center of the circle. The slot machine began clacking and whirring loudly. Pixelated faces of the participants spun rapidly (Seto noticed that Seth's and Jade's were grayed-out) before all three slots stopped on Sky's image. The words "GUILTY" flashed brightly as confetti burst from the machine.

MonoWither flew from his seat. "Finally! Took you long enough!"

Tyler glared at him with bloodshot eyes.

"Well, you guys got it correct! Sky, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Squid Slayer, was the one who poisoned Jade!" MonoWither said happily, spinning around in circles.

Sky closed his eyes and rested his head against the podium stand in defeat, having lost all his energy and willpower to protest.

MonoWither's words cut into the group like knives.

"Sky..." Jason whispered, his eyes bulging in disbelief. "You... really killed her?"

Ryan slammed his fist down on the podium. "WHAT THE FUCK, SKY?!" he yelled, his anger failing to conceal the pain in his voice.

"I can't believe this..." Steven said quietly, shaking his head in denial. "I can't believe you would do something like this..."

The rest of the people were all too stunned and horrified to react. The fact that Sky had actually killed Jade in cold blood...

"Why?!" Tyler demanded, tears still streaming down his face. "WHY?!" He ran all the way over to Sky, grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and pulled him up so he was standing. "WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!" he shrieked as he began shaking Sky violently. Sky didn't move a muscle as Tyler shook him. There was a deadened, vacant expression on his face. His empty eyes were concealed by his sunglasses. "TELL ME!"

"I had to..." Sky said finally, all traces of emotion gone.

"What do you mean?!" Tyler demanded hysterically. "What do you mean you had to?!"

Sky did not answer.

"It appears that Sky has taken a vow of silence, so allow us to explain for him!" MonoWither said. "Ahem! It all had to do with the motive we ever so graciously gave to you!"

"Motive? You mean the videos you showed us?" Jordan asked warily.

"Correct!" MonoWither replied. "Anyway, we think you'd all be interested in seeing what Sky saw that compelled him to commit such a horrendous crime..."

Sky didn't seem like he had heard MonoWither at all. Seto's soul filled with dread as MonoWither said, "Roll the clip!" A giant screen on the wall turned on to show...

...a wedding. Sky and Alesa's wedding, to be exact. The soon-to-be married couple stood on the altar, listening to the the officiant as he spoke. Sky was wearing his best tuxedo and Alesa was wearing a beautiful white dress. Seto remembered this day quite well; he had been invited to attend, after all.

"Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the officiant asked, turning to Sky.

Sky, who was beaming with joy, wasted no time in saying, "I do."

The officiant turned to Alesa. "And do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Alesa grinned, her eyes filled with elation. "I do."

"Then I hereby pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss."

Sky promptly wrapped his arms around Alesa and kissed her for a long, long time. Everyone cheered and applauded for the new couple. It was such a wonderful and jubilant moment...

...at least before MonoWither's gleeful yet malicious voice cut in. "Sky, the Super Duper Minecrafter Squid Slayer. Regarded as a hero for his courageous talent, he is now a husband and a father, ready to start a new life with his family..."

The scene changed to show Alesa rocking a baby cradle, crooning a lullaby to the child inside. MonoWither's voice continued ominously. "We definitely hope that nothing will happen to this new family that Sky treasures so much... That would be absolutely devastating, right?"

Right on cue, the video flickered. When the screen cleared, quite a few people cried out in horror. The room was now covered in golden flames, which licked across the floor and cast horrific shadows on the walls. Alesa was lying on the ground, her body mangled and covered in blood, although it could only be seen from behind. The baby in the cradle was wailing and shrieking, but neither one of his parents were there to save him from the fire that would soon consume him...

"Oh dear! Oh no! We spoke too soon, something _did_ happen to his family!" MonoWither's voice exclaimed. "This is terrible! This is awful! What could have possibly happened to Sky's wife and child while he was away?! Are they dead or are they still alive somehow?!"

The video cut to black before the words "FIND OUT AFTER THE SHOW!" popped up on the screen.

There was a horrified silence as the video ended. Sky was now clutching his dark curly locks and digging his nails into his head, gritting his teeth. Tyler, still standing next to him, was hyperventilating like he was on the verge of having a panic attack.

"Sky..." Seto whispered after a few moments of silence. "I thought you said that you didn't think the videos were real..."

"Yeah... you told us that yourself..." Jerome said quietly.

Sky removed his hands from his head and began to laugh bitterly. "Of course those videos aren't real. There's no way."

Mitch struggled to speak. "Then... why did you...?"

"I just wanted to make sure..." Sky said in a hollow voice. "I just wanted to confirm that it wasn't real..."

With those words, everyone realized that Sky _did_ believe that the video was real. Perhaps, out of all of them, he'd believed it the most...

"Then why did you kill _Jade_?!" Annie shrieked, tears streaming down her face. "She was only 16!"

Sky raised his head and stared up at the blue-and-gold checkered ceiling. "Why her? Because I couldn't kill any of you guys... My friends..."

"But if you weren't caught, then we would have all died anyway," Ashley murmured.

Sky winced and crossed his arms over his chest. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Sorry? You're _sorry_?!" Husky shrieked. "We could have gotten out together! Why did you have to murder someone? Why did you... Why?" Then he choked up and couldn't say another word.

Sky stared at the mudkip before averting his gaze, filled with shame. "I'm sorry," he repeated, taking a shaky breath. "I'm sorry Seto, for making it seem like you were the killer... I didn't know what else to do..."

Seto's voice was barely audible. "Why did you ask me if I was the murderer when you already knew the answer?"

"I... I just..." Sky whispered. "For a moment, I wanted to think it was you who did it... Not me..." He wiped his eyes and suppressed a sob. "I'm so sorry everyone... I didn't want to do this at all... I didn't want to kill anybody..."

"Upupupu! But you still did! And you know what _that_ means?" MonoWither asked, barely able to contain their excitement. "It means that it's time for the blackened to be punished!"

Fear crossed Sky's face as he staggered backwards. "W-Wait a sec!" he yelled desperately. "Can't we talk about this?!"

"Of course not! You failed to convince the others you weren't the murderer, they all voted for you, and thus you must be executed! Sorry, but that's the rules!" MonoWither replied, not sounding sorry at all.

"NO!" Bodil yelled in horror, his face stark white.

"You're heartless!" Bonks shrieked, weeping openly. "Sky has a family!"

"You can't call _us_ heartless when Sky's the one who murdered someone!" MonoWither said. "It's a life for a life! We're just doing our parts as your hosts!"

"Fuck you!" Jason screeched, his blue eyes filled with pure hatred and sadness. "I hate you so much!"

Ashley growled and put her foot on the podium stand, ready to leap upwards and tackle MonoWither in midair, but Ryan grabbed her arm to stop her. "Let me go!" Ashley insisted as she tried to wrench her arm from his grip.

"It's no use!" Ryan hissed. "MonoWither's too strong!"

Ashley put her foot down, pried his fingers from her arm, and glared at him; however, she did not attack MonoWither.

Tyler stood in front of Sky protectively. "Wait! Let me take his place!" he begged. "Please!"

"Tyler, don't!" Sky yelled in alarm, although it looked like he was torn between his morals and his desire to live.

"Well this was unexpected! You're truly willing to sacrifice your life to save Sky?" MonoWither asked, tilting their three heads in interest.

Tyler nodded without hesitation.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Sky hissed, his eyes wide with fear.

"It's better me than you," Tyler replied.

Sky shook his head frantically. "But- But you can't just-"

Tyler rested his hands on Sky's shoulders. "Sky, it's going to be okay," he said, smiling. "If it turns out that those videos are fake, then..." His smile broke for one second before it returned, slightly more forced than before. "...then tell my family I said 'Hi', and that I love them, okay?"

"Tyler..." Sky whispered.

"How touching! But before you get ahead of yourself, the judges will have to decide whether or not this sacrifice can be allowed in the first place!" MonoWither said, closing their eyes. A few moments later, all of their heads burst into laughter. "The verdict is in! You're in luck, Tyler!" Relief washed over Tyler's face. Sky looked away and shut his eyes tightly.

"All three of us agreed..." MonoWither's red eyes gleamed. "...that you're incredibly stupid for trying to pull that off!"

Tyler's eyes widened in horror. "Wh-What?"

"Did you really think we'd let you do some heroic sacrifice? Your dramatic performance tugged at our heartstrings, but honestly! Only the blackened will be punished, and the blackened alone! We aren't going to break our own rules! Besides, we think it'll cause you so much despair if you watch Sky perish..."

"Please, MonoWither!" Tyler pleaded, clasping his hands together. "Don't kill Sky! I'll do anything!"

"No! We've already decided! Sky will be the one to be executed, not you!"

Seto ran over to the two and formed a purple force field around the three of them. "You're not executing anyone, MonoWither," he said with determination as he glared at the machine.

"Ooh, is that a challenge?" MonoWither asked, flying down so that they were inches away from the forcefield and directly in front of Seto's face. "Well then, here's our move!" MonoWither suddenly flashed white before exploding. The sheer force of the blast shook the ground and almost broke the force field, but not quite. Beads of sweat ran down Seto's forehead as he struggled to keep the barrier up.

 _The_ _blast_ _wasn't_ _even_ _that_ _strong_ _,_ _why_ _did_ _it_ _weaken_ _my_ _forcefield that much_ _?_

"MonoWither... exploded?" Jason asked in bewilderment.

Jordan raised his eyebrows. "Does that mean they're gone?"

 _"Ha! Of course not!"_ Sure enough, a spare version of MonoWither reappeared. "It'd take more than that to take us down!" All three heads swiveled to face Seto. "Are you done yet?"

Seto's legs quivered like jelly. "No..." he forced out, despite the fact that he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up.

"Ugh, fine, be like that!" MonoWither complained. A bunch of claws holding obsidian blocks came out of the wall and began slamming against the force field. Each blow made Seto gasp in agony. His head, still weak from the concussion, began to throb painfully. He sank to his knees but stubbornly refused to let the barrier break.

Tyler stood completely still, covering his mouth with his hands as he stared up at the claws that continued to relentlessly rain blows down on the force field.

"Seto, stop it!" Sky shrieked. "It's useless! You're hurting yourself!"

"NO!" Seto shouted, his chest heaving as he took labored, heavy breaths. Each blow shook him to the core. Blood began to drip from his nose as he mustered all the strength he had to keep going. "If... I don't... then you'll die..." He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let Sky die. He couldn't let MonoWither win. He had to keep on going, or else...

One of the claws tossed a lit TNT block, which exploded. It was the final blow. The force field shattered and Seto cried out as he collapsed face-first to the floor. His whole body shook as he attempted to stand up again, but all his energy was spent. Seto's hands flickered purple as he tried to form another force field, but it was fruitless.

Seto struggled to speak. "Why... are my powers..."

"...so weak now?" MonoWither finished. Seto blinked in confusion. "We guess that 'painkiller' we gave you really did its job! We couldn't have you using your powers willy-nilly during the trial, could we?"

Two claws lifted Seto and Tyler up and placed them back by their respective podium stands (although Seto's claw more or less just dropped him on the floor). "Have you all had enough yet?" MonoWither asked, their voice unusually deadly as they moved back to their throne. "Would anyone else like to challenge us? You're only delaying the inevitable!"

There was only silence. Several people looked like they wanted nothing more than to tear MonoWither to pieces, but they wisely chose not to.

Seto grit his teeth and gripped the bars, pulling himself up so that he was barely standing on his legs. He wiped the blood that was dripping from his nose. "I... I'm not... giving up..."

"Stop! Just stop!" Sky ordered in a shrill voice. "It's okay, Seto! I- I'm done running away from all of this..." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm done trying to avoid what I got myself into... This is all my fault anyway..." Sky laughed brokenly. "Jade... I wonder if I'll meet her in the afterlife..."

He swallowed. "I'm sorry everyone. I didn't want to sacrifice any of you. I didn't want to kill her. But I... I did anyway. I hope you guys don't make the same mistake I did, and that you'll all get out of here somehow..." Sky turned to MonoWither. "Just one last thing, before you start the punishment. I want to know if the video was real or not."

"Upupupu!" MonoWither giggled. "Too bad, you didn't end the show, so you'll never know!"

A desperate look crossed Sky's face. "Is it real or is it not?! What happened to Tyler and Alesa?! Are they dead or are they alive?!" MonoWither cackled giddily. Sky slammed his fists against his stand. "TELL ME! PLEASE!"

"Now then, we've prepared a very special punishment for Sky, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Squid Slayer!"

"N-No..." Sky whispered, his face devoid of color as he shook his head in denial. "I won't believe it's real... It's all fake..." He began to choke out a lost, irrevocable sob. "TYLER!" Sky howled, tears running down his cheeks. "ALESA!"

Sky's desperate, hopeless scream echoed throughout the courtroom as a red button rose in front of MonoWither. Once again, a claw emerged from the wall and held a wooden gavel in the air. Monowither's red eyes gleamed before they slammed the gavel down on the button.

* * *

**Execution Music:<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdl4K7oud8o>**

**SHOW'S** **OVER: SKY HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY. TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!**

Sky stood there, trembling with anger and fear as he clutched his podium stand so hard, his knuckles were white and the wood seemed like it was about to be crushed in his hands. The wild look in his eyes was masked by his sunglasses as he looked around at the faces of his friends, begging for salvation.

A metal claw came out of nowhere, latched around his neck, and pulled him back. Sky cried out in surprise and reached his arm out before he was dragged through a dark hallway, his body skidding across the floor. All of the remaining people tried to run after his quickly disappearing figure (except for Seto, who was too weak to move from his podium), but the door closed before they could make it into the hallway. Tyler began to scream and bang his fists against the door to no avail.

The giant screen on the wall turned on to show Sky as the claw dragged him into a glass enclosure. The door to the enclosure slammed shut. "WARNING: DANGEROUS AQUATIC ANIMALS INSIDE" was what the sign on the door said. The survivors all gathered around the screen, watching Sky with horrified dread.

The claw let Sky go and disappeared. Sky, who was lying on sand, slowly picked himself up and looked around, warily noticing his surroundings. He was standing in front of a large round pool in the center of the enclosure, its cold depths concealed by inky shadows. Encircling his island of sand was a thick ring of water. Sky stood there, his amulet glowing in the slight darkness, when all of a sudden the glowstone lights flashed on.

It was like watching a gladiator show from the ancient times, Seto realized with horror.

All of a sudden, squids began emerging from the ring of water. Sky looked afraid for a moment, but that gave way to anger as he grit his teeth and glared daggers at them. If he was going to die, he was going to go down with dignity.

Seto saw Sky take something out of his pocket and clutch it tightly in his left hand, but whatever it was, it was too small to see.

The numerous squids crawled across the sand towards the center, reaching their sinuous tentacles towards Sky. Sky backed away slowly, still staring at them defiantly, when he got too close to the pool. All of a sudden a bunch of tentacles latched onto his ankles from behind and pulled, making him fall forward. Taken by surprise, Sky unsuccessfully struggled to haul himself out of the tight grip of the squids as they pulled his legs down into the water. His left hand was still clasping the mysterious item in a tight fist, but his right hand scrabbled for purchase in the sand.

Unfortunately, the squids on the island grabbed his arms and pushed him, sending him falling into the pool with a splash.

The view switched to a camera on the ceiling right above the pool. The camera dipped down below the surface to show the rest of the scene. Countless squids all holding golden swords swirled around Sky in a frenzy. Sky reached his right hand out towards the dimming light of the surface, thrashing and writhing as he was dragged downwards into the darkness. His mouth was opened in a muted scream that took the form of countless bubbles that spewed from his lips. His sunglasses had fallen off and his golden eyes were wide open in a terror that Seto had seen many times before, a terror so full of despair and desperation that it rooted Seto to the spot and paralyzed him instantly.

It was the terror of someone who knew they were about to breathe their last.

In a crazed desire consumed by bloodlust, the squids began to stab Sky with their swords over and over and over again, endlessly, nonstop. Sky's agonized screams of pain were muffled by the water. A dark cloud of crimson blood filled the pool, concealing Sky from sight. The only thing that could still be seen of him was his hand, still outstretched towards the unattainable light of the surface...

In the end, this was what would haunt Seto the most in his nightmares. It wasn't the look of unbridled terror on Sky's face as he was pulled towards his doom. It wasn't the copious amount of blood that had somehow come from one person. It was Sky's hand and the way it continued to reach out for that disappearing light, despite the torturous pain he must have suffered as he was stabbed repeatedly to death...

It only lasted for about fifteen seconds, but to Seto it felt like hours before the squids finally dispersed. The thick cloud of blood spread apart and dissipated as Sky's body drifted downwards into the dark depths of the pool, his limp arm still reaching out. Sky's eyes and mouth were wide open and that look of terror was now permanently etched onto his face. Small tendrils of blood rose from the countless stab wounds that covered his lifeless body as Sky sank deeper and deeper until he was out of sight.

No one could look away from the bloody, chaotic spectacle. Everyone had remained silent as they watched Sky, their friend, get killed in an utterly cruel fashion. They were all petrified, rooted to the spot, with their own expressions of complete shock, horror, and disbelief.

Finally, the thing that Sky had been clutching tightly throughout the entire ordeal slipped from his cold fingers and floated upwards to the surface. It was a photograph of Sky and Alesa, who was lying on a hospital bed and cradling a baby in her arms. They were staring at the camera. Alesa was smiling despite her exhaustion and her red hair clung to the sweat that dampened her forehead. Sky had the proud, awestruck grin of a new father who was so very happy to be with his new family...

This was what Sky had killed for and died for.

This was what Sky would never see again.

* * *

All was silent before MonoWither exclaimed, "AWWW YEAH! THAT WAS BRUTAL!"

"NO! NOOO!" Tyler shrieked in agony, clutching his head with his hands. "SKY!"

Annie's voice was a mere whisper. "S-Sky... He's... oh god..."

"No..." Jason said, his voice shaking. "It can't be..."

"I- I can't-" Husky stammered, his eyes wide open with disbelief. "Why-"

"This is all just a bad dream!" Bodil screamed, hitting his head with his fists. "None of this is real! I just need to wake up!"

"Fuck- Oh _fuck_!" Ryan cursed, trembling where he stood.

"Language, Ryan!" MonoWither scolded. "Remember, this is all going on TV and I don't want too much profanity!"

"You're fucking sick!" Jerome yelled.

"Someday we'll avenge Sky's death!" Mitch vowed, angrily glaring at the monochromatic Wither.

"And Seth's and Jade's deaths as well!" Ashley yelled. Her hand had its fingers spread as though they were about to claw off MonoWither's three faces with one swipe.

"Such courageous words coming from insignificant side characters!" MonoWither said. "But insignificant side characters don't defeat the antagonist! Only the protagonist does! If you don't want to go through this again, then just cut your attachments from the outside world and accept your new lives here with your casting roles! Don't murder anyone! It's that simple!"

"Shut up!" Jordan shouted. "This is all _your_ fault! _You're_ the ones who killed our friends!"

"Oh, _we're_ the one who killed them? Seth broke Rule Number 5, Jade was stupid enough to open the door and let the killer in, and Sky knew what he was getting into when he murdered that mere teenage fangirl in cold blood! We were only getting rid of a despicable excuse of a human being when we executed him! And how can you still call Sky a 'friend' when he committed the worst possible crime of all?!"

"He was forced to!" Steven declared, clinging onto Bart and Dave as if they would suddenly be killed as well. Seto had never seen the blue-and-white shirted man so furious before. "He would never have killed her if it wasn't for that sick, twisted video you showed him!"

"He was only trying to get back to his family!" Bonks shrieked.

"Have none of you given a thought to what _Jade_ saw in her video?" MonoWither asked. "Jade saw _her_ own family! She had two loving parents and an older sister! She was only 16! But Sky took away her chance of knowing what happened to them for the sake of his own purely _selfish_ desires!" MonoWither suddenly turned to face Seto. "Oh, poor Seto..."

Seto looked up and glared at the machine. "What?" he said through his teeth.

"You were starting to get to know Jade, huh? What a shock you had when you found her body! You didn't even know how to feel! And that moment when you realized that the one who killed her was Sky, your very first friend..." Seto shut his eyes tightly and tried unsuccessfully to ignore the sadistic machine. MonoWither suddenly frowned. "Oh, but you're the one who called Sky out on his lies, right? How horrifying! Callously sending off your best friend to die? Only someone with a lack of humanity could accomplish that-"

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY!" Seto howled as he suddenly slammed his fists onto the podium stand. "How... dare... you..." he hissed, seething with rage as he dug his nails into the wood. Tears were streaming down his face and he angrily wiped them away with his gray sleeve. If only he'd been able to keep his force field up... If only he hadn't taken that pill... "Sky... Jade... Seth... those deaths were all caused by you..." He struggled to speak through the aching pain that burned in his throat. "But none of us... None of us will give in...!"

Everyone stared at Seto with moved silence as the sorcerer pointed at MonoWither with a shaky finger. "We will not fall into your trap! We will prove you wrong! For their sake... For Sky's and Seth's and Jade's... we will escape from this place without killing anybody!"

MonoWither was silent. "And so the protagonist speaks," the middle head spoke quietly, all traces of typical cheerfulness gone in that one sentence.

Seto blinked. "Huh?"

"Well, boast all you want!" MonoWither declared with glee. "Because the first Show Trial is over! And we know that there'll be many more to come!" MonoWither turned to a camera on the wall. "That was some emotional stuff right there! We're sure you viewers are just soaking it up! Who do you think will crack next? Who do you think will be betrayed next? We're sure that you're all just _dying_ to know, but those are questions that'll have to be answered later! And with that, the first part of 'Super Duper Minecrafters' has come to a close! Stay tuned for more!"

Everyone stood there, not knowing what to say. Perhaps there really was nothing to say. After all, with everything that had happened in just five days, their grief could not be properly expressed. Tyler was still sobbing inconsolably, however.

Seto stared at the floor, still gripping his podium in much the same way that Sky had before he'd been dragged off. For some reason he was thinking of Sky and Alesa's wedding day and how happy everyone had been to see the couple start their new lives together...

It was only a few months ago when they'd been wed. It felt like years now.

"C-Come on, Seto..." Bonks whispered quietly. "It's time to go back..."

Seto's eyes continued to stare at the floor, unable to move.

"Seto..." Bonks murmured, tapping his shoulder.

Seto finally let go of the podium and followed the rest of the people, who trudged back to the elevator with slow footsteps that echoed with a hollow tone. Sky's body sinking into the inky black depths of the pool haunted them all...

If pain had a taste, Seto thought, it would surely be similar to that of salty tears and coppery blood.

**PART 01 - EITHER LIVE OR DIE / it's up for me to decide**

**END**

**STILL ALIVE: 16 - 3 = 13 PARTICIPANTS**

**ITEM GET! You acquired the present "Purple-And-Gold Amulet".**


	14. Don't Want to Be Alone

**(A/N: Trigger warning- Brief self-destructive behavior, brief mentions of self-harm.)**

~~~

**PART 02- I'D GIVE MY LIFE / to trade places with you**

_The 14-year-old sorcerer knelt down in the dirt, damp mud staining the bottom fringes of his black cloak as he plucked the plants from the ground and placed them into his bag. It was spring, and that meant fresh herbs for the picking. He needed to restock his healing potions and poultices..._

_Suddenly he heard a loud, terrified scream in the distance, startling him._ _Seto's eyes widened before he ran over to the source of the sound. As he got closer, t_ _he screams got louder. "TY!!! TY HELP ME!!!"_

_Seto stopped running when he reached the edge of the forest and saw a commotion by the lake. A teenage boy with a golden sword was being dragged into the water by dozens of squids. The boy was struggling to escape and was trying to maintain a grip on his sword, but another squid wrenched the weapon from his hands and tossed it aside._

_Those squids clearly had some vendetta against the boy, since they weren't using their own swords to stab him. They wanted to drown him slowly._

_"HELP!!! HELP!!!" the boy continued to scream desperately, his voice filled with panic._

_Seto dropped his bag of herbs and ran over to the lake. Four squids saw him, pulled out their swords, and headed towards him. Seto grabbed the fallen golden sword on the sand and channeled some of his magical energy into the blade. The sorcerer swung the sword with his right hand and sliced one of the squids clean in half. At the same time, his left hand glowed purple before blasting the remaining three squids away._

_The boy was now pinned down below the surface of the water, writhing frantically but unable to come up for air. Seto narrowed his eyes in anger before charging forward, hurling a ball of energy at some the squids holding him down. Quite a few of them were sent flying several feet in the air before falling into the water with a splash. They wouldn't resurface._

_Seto's hands glowed purple as he levitated the swords of the four squids he'd defeated earlier into the air. A flick of his wrist sent the swords flying forward, skewering several of the squids through their heads. Seto held the bloodstained golden sword up in the air and glared at the remaining squids, who at least had the minimal intelligence required to realize that this was a losing battle. They swam away and let go of the boy, who immediately crawled up on the bank and gasped for breath._

_The sorcerer hesitated before walking a few feet towards the teenager, who coughed weakly for a few moments before collapsing on the sand. Seto placed the golden sword next to him and stared at him awkwardly. He hadn't seen another human being this close up for about a year or so._

_After determining that the teenager was all right, and that he was_ _able_ _to_ _breathe_ _perfectly_ _fine_ _, Seto turned around and left the scene. He_ _found his bag of herbs and walked through the forest, heading his way home._

Why did you save him? _a part of him wondered._

Because it was the right thing to do.

Would he have done the same thing for you?

...I couldn't just leave him to die...

Well isn't that ironic, given who you really are...

_Seto stopped walking and took a few moments to clear his thoughts before continuing onwards. A few minutes later, he saw his house. It wasn't much, and a majority of it was made out of wood, but he liked it that way. He opened the fence gate and stepped inside when all of a sudden he heard footsteps behind him._

_Seto's hands immediately glowed purple as he whirled around and raised his arms in an offensive stance, prepared to attack._

_"Woah woah woah, don't hurt me!"_

_Seto's eyes widened in shock and he lowered his arms when he saw that it was the curly-haired boy from the lake, still drenched from head to toe. There was a distinctive amulet hanging around his neck._

_The boy panted slightly and swiped his dripping bangs from his face. "Hey, thanks for saving me from those squids with those awesome powers of yours! I thought I was dead for sure!" The teenager then reached his soaked arm out to Seto._

_Seto stared at the teenager's hand, too confused to speak. What was this boy doing? Was this some sort of hostile gesture? But the boy's smile and words indicated otherwise..._

_The teenager frowned and lowered his arm slightly. "Um, you do know what a handshake is, right?"_

_"A... handshake?" Seto felt quite foolish for not knowing what this was._

_"Yeah, a handshake! It's what people do when they meet each other for the first time! See?" The teenager grabbed Seto's hand (Seto flinched, suppressing his defensive instinct to blast the boy several feet away and snap his neck against one of the tree branches.) and shook it before letting it go. "Name's Sky!" he said, grinning. "What's yours?"_

_"My name?" Seto asked hesitantly. "Why do you want to know that?"_

_Sky tilted his head. "You don't talk to other people much, do you? Guess that explains why you've got this house out here in the middle of the woods, far away from the city. Hey, you're not some criminal on the loose, right?"_

_"N-No..."_

_"Okay, good. So what's your name?"_

_He bit his lip before giving in. "Seto..." he whispered._

_"Say that again?"_

_Seto forced himself to speak louder. If only his voice would stop trembling... "Seto. My name is Seto."_

_"Oh. Well, that's a pretty cool name! Seto the sorcerer. Seto the sorcerer. Gotta remember that."_

_"And... your name is Sky..."_

_"Yep! That's my name! Well, actually it's Adam, but I'd rather be called Sky."_

_Suddenly they both heard a voice in the distance. "Sky, where are you?!"_

_"I'm over here!" Sky yelled, waving his arms in the air._

_A boy with long brown hair that covered one of his red eyes emerged from the trees several feet away._

_Seto's face paled. "Wh- Who is that?"_

_Sky laughed. "Relax, that's just my friend."_

_"...Friend?"_

_"Uh, you at least know what a friend is, right?"_

_Seto's silence answered his question._

_"Where the hell did you run off to?" the brown-haired kid demanded as he approached Sky._

_Sky laughed sheepishly. "I... uh... I got lost... And the squids may or may not have tried to drown me..."_

_The kid sighed as though this was a common occurrence and turned to Seto. "Who are you?"_

_Seto subconsciously lowered his hood further over his head. To say this was slightly overwhelming for him would be an understatement._

_"Oh, this guy's Seto. He's pretty shy, but he saved my life! He's a sorcerer, by the way."_

_The brown-haired boy smiled. "Call me Ty."_

_"H-Hi..." Seto said warily. There was a pause before he slowly reached his arm forward to grab Ty's hand and shake it. Ty gave him a weird look. Seto, noticing this in alarm, quickly dropped his hand. "Th-That's how you do a handshake, right? That's what you're supposed to do when you meet someone for the first time, right?"_

_Ty burst into laughter. "You got that from Sky, didn't you?"_

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Sky asked, mildly offended._

_"You know what I mean," Ty replied, snickering._

_"Excuse me, handshakes are cool!"_

_"Don't listen to him, Seto. Only Sky is old-fashioned enough to do handshakes. Real cool kids like us do fist bumps."_

_"Fist... bumps?" Seto asked hesitantly._

_"Like this!" Ty exclaimed, holding his fist out in front of him._

_Seto shied away from the fist, briefly thinking that Ty was trying to punch him. After a few moments, he deduced what the term "fist bump" meant and curled his hand into a fist before lightly tapping it against Ty's knuckles. Ty drew his hand back and made a strange explosion sound with his mouth. Seto stared at him oddly before doing the same, imitating the sound._

_Ty and Sky burst into laughter and for a second Seto thought they were mocking him. He relaxed when he realized that they weren't. Seto's heart felt strangely light as he felt the corners of his mouth turn upwards into a smile. He couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled genuinely. What surprised him the most was when he actually started to laugh along with them, because he'd never done that before._

_He liked this feeling, this feeling of laughter._

~~~

Warm water cascaded over Seto's pale body as he stood there, motionless, in the shower. He had been standing there for several minutes already, lost in thought. His brown eyes stared blankly at the white wall in front of him and watched the droplets gradually slide down the tiles. His mind was a swirl of broken memories and words, of tears and blood and pain.

Seto blinked several times before finally moving. He grabbed the shampoo bottle and squeezed some out onto his palm before putting it in his hair. He massaged his scalp for a few moments, but flinched when his fingers ran over a long scar along the top of his head.

He quickly rinsed the shampoo off his curly brown locks and took several deep breaths before taking the bar of soap and scrubbing his body clean. He stopped to glance briefly at the thin, pale lines that marred his left arm. It had been many, many years since he'd added a new line. Normally he would have felt proud of himself. Today he did not. He just felt empty, like a hollow shell. 

Seto closed his eyes and tilted his head upwards, letting the water run over his freckled face. He suddenly shivered even though the water wasn't cold at all. He decided that he was done taking a shower, so he placed his hand on the knob, ready to turn the water off.

__"Oh, but you're the one who called Sky out on his lies, right?_ _ __How horrifying! Callously sending off your best friend to die?_ _ _Only someone with a lack of humanity could accomplish_ _that_ _!"_

Seto grit his teeth and clutched the knob tightly. He suddenly thought of a man, a man with piercing green eyes whom he hadn't seen ever since he was 13.

_"You are quite disappointing, Seto. You are merely a hindrance, an inconvenience to our goals. The only reason we took you from the orphanage was so we could get rid of you, but still you exist, at least partially. What a disappointment._ _It would have been far better for us if you just didn't exist at all..."_

Seto breathed raggedly before turning the knob all the way to the left. The water quickly turned scalding hot, making his skin sting and burn, but he didn't care. His tears mixed with the water that felt like liquid fire. He endured the scorching pain, let the water leave red marks all over his skin, because this was what he deserved for existing. He deserved this. He deserved this. He deserved this-

_15-year-old Seto rummaged frantically through the bathroom cabinet. Where in the world was his razor blade?_

_"What are you looking for?" Sky asked, making Seto yelp in surprise and whirl around._

_"Sky, what the hell are you doing here?" Seto asked, his face pale. How long had he been standing there?_

_Sky shrugged. "I thought I'd drop by."_

_"But how did you get in the house?"_

_"Well you weren't answering the door, so I... kinda got worried and broke through your window. Don't worry, I replaced the glass for you! Anyway, I just wanted to ask if I could have some splash potions of swiftness."_

_"Yeah, sure..."  Seto said, closing the cabinet door and walking out of the bathroom._

_Sky followed behind him. "Oh, and whatever you were looking for in there, I may or may not have_ _gotten_ _rid_ _of it_ _."_

_Seto_ _stopped_ _walking_ _. "_ _I_ _don't_ _know_ _what_ _you're_ _talking_ _about_ _,"_ _he_ _lied_ _._

_"I did it_ _for_ _your_ _own_ _good."_

_Seto suddenly choked up and he felt tears spring to his eyes. No, he couldn't start crying in front of Sky..._

_"Seto, you all right?"_

_Seto tried to speak, but he felt like speaking would make the tears overflow. There was an aching pain in his throat._

_Sky delicately placed a hand on Seto's shoulder and turned him around. Seto lowered his head, avoiding his gaze. Was he disgusted with him?_

_To Seto's surprise, Sky suddenly hugged him. "Don't hurt yourself again, okay?"_

_Seto broke down and sobbed into Sky's shoulder. He didn't deserve this at all..._

_Sky rubbed his back with comforting circles."You can talk to me about anything."_

_Seto nodded mutely, but he never did tell Sky any the secrets he hid..._

Seto realized that the water wasn't hot anymore. In fact, it actually felt soothingly cool. Seto blinked in confusion and stared at the shower knob, which wasn't turned all the way to the left like before. He didn't remember adjusting the temperature himself...

_"_ _I_ _did_ _it_ _for_ _your_ _own_ _good._ _"_

Seto turned off the water. He watched the water flow down the drain and noticed an unfortunate spider that had gotten caught in the current. The spider flailed around helplessly before sinking down into the drain.

He was vaguely reminded of the way Sky had been dragged down into the watery depths of his grave.

~~~

It was 8:10 when Seto finally made his way to the cafeteria. To his surprise, Bonks was already there. She was sitting by Seth's memorial, but there were two picture frames that hadn't been there before. Seto stopped and stared at them. The first one was a drawing of Jade writing something in a notebook. The second one had Sky laughing while holding a golden sword.

The humanoid orchid mantis turned to Seto, sadness in her pink eyes. "Hi Seto..." she murmured.

Seto nodded as he sat down next to her, not sure of what to say or do. He wasn't hungry; the mere thought of eating breakfast made his stomach turn. It seemed that Bonks felt the same way. The two of them sat in silence and waited for the others.

Gradually, the rest of the people filed in. They were unusually quiet as well, and their expressions were rather dismal. It was clear that most people didn't get much sleep that night, since quite a few of them had dark bags under their eyes. No one went into the kitchen; food seemed out of the question.

It was 9:00 when Tyler finally made his appearance. Much to everyone's surprise, he was sporting a wide grin. "Good morning everyone!" he said cheerily as he entered the cafeteria.

Everyone stared in bewilderment as he went to the kitchen and rummaged through the pantry. Seto slowly stood up and walked over to him. "Um... Tyler?" he asked hesitantly. "Are you... okay?"

Tyler pulled out a granola bar and closed the door. "Yeah, why?" he replied, his smile not wavering one bit.

Seto bit his lip. "Nothing," he murmured.

"I feel pretty good today," Tyler said to no one in particular as he walked back into the cafeteria. He stopped when the memorial caught his eye. Bonks quickly reacted by grabbing Sky's picture and hugging it to her chest, hiding it from view, but it was too late.

Tyler's smile widened, now looking incredibly forced. "That's... That's a really good drawing..." he said.

Bonks didn't reply; Tyler's reaction worried her.

Tyler blinked rapidly and turned away, hiding his face from everybody. His body started to quiver. "That's... That's really good..." Seto tentatively reached over to touch Tyler's shoulder, but Tyler flinched and shook him off. "I'm fine."

"Tyler, you don't have to hide how you feel-"

"I'm fine."

"Tyler-"

"I'M FINE!!!" Tyler yelled, whirling around to face Seto. Seto's eyes widened when he realized that Tyler was crying. Tyler angrily wiped his eyes and tried to smile again, but every attempt failed. "I'm fine... I'm fine..." he repeated over and over again, backing away. "Sky's not dead... He's not dead... It's not my fault I couldn't stop him..." Tyler quickly turned around and tried to run out of the cafeteria, but Seto grabbed his arm to stop him. "IT'S NOT MY FAULT!!!" he cried out as he quickly wrenched his arm from Seto's grip and sprinted away.

Before Seto could follow him, they all heard someone behind them say, "Wow, for the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Drama Actor, that was a really disappointing performance!"

Seto balled his hand into a fist and turned around to see MonoWither. The other people at the tables silently turned around as well, glaring daggers at the floating machine. The air thickened with palpable tension. MonoWither merely grinned. "Aw, why the long faces? Come on, after that exciting episode, you should be pumped with adrenaline!"

No one said a single word.

"Oh... We get it now..." MonoWither said slowly. "You're all mad at Tyler, aren't you?"

"What?!" Jason snapped, breaking the silence with his anger and confusion.

" _Tyler's_ not the one we're mad at..." Jordan murmured, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"That hurts our feelings... Boo hoo..." MonoWither said sadly. "But didn't you think that Tyler trying to defend the obvious culprit without any good reason was annoying? He wasted so much time... Clearly he was trying to get you to vote for the wrong person and kill you all! Surely you all hold grudges against Tyler for doing such a thing, right?"

"None of us blame him for doing that!" Ryan yelled angrily.

"Yeah, it's not his fault!" Husky declared.

"Oh, really? Well then, you know whose fault it really is?"

"Yours," Annie replied, giving MonoWither a death stare.

"You've got that wrong! No, the one at fault is Bodil!" Bodil let out a startled yelp at the sound of his name. "After all, he found out that the thief had the prize, but didn't tell anyone out of mere cowardice! Plus, he even admitted the real reason why he wanted those coins! He never got the chance to go through with it, but surely a person with such immoral intentions cannot be trusted, don't you think?" Bodil lowered his head in shame. MonoWither giggled. "Upupu! We think we know who the next victim's going to be!"

Bodil's face blanched and he looked around wildly. "N-No- Please don't kill me- I didn't mean to-!"

"No one is murdering anyone!" Mitch shouted, clearly done with listening to MonoWither.

"Yeah, no more people are going to die!" Jerome yelled.

"What?!" MonoWither shrieked in horror. "But- But the whole point of this show is people succumbing to despair and dying! What kind of hosts would we be if the show lost its meaning?! We might lose our jobs!"

"As Seto said, it's our duty to Seth, Jade, and Sky to not fall into your trap!" Jason declared.

"So you're all going to listen to _Seto_ , huh?" MonoWither asked, the middle head's tone suddenly turning deadly. "Is that _really_ a good idea? Can you even trust him?"

"Of course we can!" Bonks insisted.

"If you say so... Of course, don't go blaming me if he chooses to _slaughter_ everyone..." MonoWither said, casting a meaningful glance at Seto. Seto felt chills run up and down his spine at that particular word. "Anyway, to get to the real reason why we came, we actually wanted to tell you that we've opened up the second floor for the thirteen of you as a reward for making it this far! Please head over to the stairs to receive your prize!" MonoWither said as they flew away at top speed.

Everyone was silent as they pondered on whether or not following MonoWither was a good idea. "Stop dawdling and get a move on!!!" MonoWither ordered, making them flinch. They had no choice but to obey.

They reluctantly made their way to the stairs, which was still blocked by the shutter gate. MonoWither hovered in front of the scanner, which turned green. The churning sound of gears turning filled the air as the gate slowly lifted upwards. When it reached the top, MonoWither said, "Okay kids! Have fun in there! Who knows? Maybe you can find more opportunities to commit a murder..."

The group cautiously walked up the steps, with Seto taking the lead in the very front.

Seto could not get rid of the thought that plagued his mind, the thought that their numbers would only continue to dwindle.


	15. Second Try

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, long time no see! School made me super busy, sorry. To make a long story short: I was actually planning on uploading chapters only after I had completely finished Part 02, but since I finished Chapter 14 quite awhile ago I got impatient and decided to upload it now. Part 02 is already mostly finished, sans editing.

The first thing the remaining participants saw when they reached the second floor was a rather large pool, the bottom of which had a large picture of MonoWither's middle face. "...That smells really nasty," Jerome complained, crinkling his nose with disgust.

"How much chlorine is in that thing?" Husky wondered aloud.

"Fun fact!" MonoWither interjected loudly. "Contrary to popular belief, a smelly pool isn't because there's too much chlorine in the water, but because there are too many chloramines! Chloramines are the combination of chlorine disinfectants and perspiration or oils from swimmers! Chemically, hypochlorous acid reacts with ammonia to form-"

"Can you speak English please?" Ashley asked exasperatedly.

"Basically, a pool smells because, ironically, there actually _isn't_ enough chlorine added in the water! But, uh, this smell's probably different or something. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't remove the smell! And no one's really swum in that pool yet except for us, so... Whatever! Just ignore it! It'll stay on you until you take a shower, but the water's still clean!"

"No one wants to swim in your stupid pool!" Ryan declared. "What the hell is the point of this floor anyway?"

"R-Ryan-senpai, please don't yell at us like that!" MonoWither whined. "We just wanted to show you guys the recreation floor so you can have some fun for once!"

"Recreation floor?" Mitch echoed.

"Yep! This floor has got all you need for a great time! Besides this pool, we've also got an extensive weight room to keep those muscles in shape!"

Silence.

"...And?" Jason asked.

"Er, well..." MonoWither stammered.

"...Is that seriously all you have?" Annie deadpanned. "Some 'recreation floor'."

"Hey! We're on a tight budget here! Don't complain!" MonoWither shouted. "You guys may be rich celebrities, well most of you anyway, but still! Be grateful with what you have and don't be spoiled! So what if we've only got a pool and a weight room?!"

"What's that room over there?" Bodil asked, pointing a shaking finger at a door to their right. "You didn't mention what that was..."

"Oh, that's the infirmary! That's in case one of you guys accidentally gets yourselves hurt! Now anyway, we know you guys all love hearing our adorable voice as we blabber on, but enough is enough! Go explore the floor yourselves! Just don't explore past Night Time, or you'll get locked inside! After all, there's no intentional sleeping allowed in places other than your assigned room..."

"Hold on a second, MonoWither," Seto said, raising his voice.

"Eh? What do you want, Seto?" MonoWither questioned. "Oh! Are you going to profess your undying devotion to us? Are you going to grovel on your knees and agree to be our loyal servant for life? Are you going to proclaim to the whole world how your long, wooden staff hardens when you see us-"

"Henri Rennet," Seto muttered.

"Huh?"

"Henri Rennet," Seto repeated. "That's the name you put at the bottom of that letter you gave us, right?"

"The hell is your point?" MonoWither snapped.

"That's not your real name, is it?"

"Well _obviously!_ " MonoWither declared, rolling their red eyes.

"...So you admit it. You gave us a false name to trick us."

"Yeah, yeah, so what? It's not our problem none of you bothered to do your research! All of you are idiots who got into this mess due to your carelessness! Also, another fun fact! Henri Le Rennet is a pseudonym of Edgar Allan Poe, who used the French version of his brother's name, Henry! Heh, funny how that idiot fanfic writer never noticed that... Anyway, Seto here needs to do a better job if he wants to win our affections! Now stop your pointless questions and give the audience some proper entertainment already!" MonoWither disappeared, preventing Seto from asking anything else.

"What... What do we do now?" Bonks asked, looking around uneasily.

"We do what MonoWither said," Jordan said calmly. "We explore the second floor."

"Why do we have to obey that stupid machine?" Jason demanded. "Whoever this Henri Rennet guy is, they're enjoying every second of this! We're just playing right into their hands!"

"No we're not," Seto said. "We'd only be doing that if we murdered one another. That's what MonoWither really wants." He stared solemnly down at the floor. "We... We have to remember what Sky told us. He told us not to make the same mistake he did..."

"Jade trusted us not to kill each other, our friends..." Annie whispered.

"And Seth died trying to save our lives... We can't just make his sacrifice meaningless by killing each other..." Steven said softly.

Seto nodded. "Let's do our best and live this communal life. We can't let what happened last time repeat itself. Maybe we'll be rescued by someone from the outside world. At worst..." Seto swallowed nervously. "At worst we'll spend the rest of our lives here. But we'll spend it without losing anymore of our friends, okay?"

Ashley pursed her lips into a grim smile. "You're right. We'll just have to adapt to this new lifestyle. That's our only option."

"So... do we split up like last time?" Husky asked.

"I don't see the point in that," Seto said honestly. "MonoWither already gave us the general layout of the floor. There's no reason to report back with what we saw. I think we should all just... take it easy, and relax as best as we can. Let's try to accept what's already happened and move on. We can't lose hope now, can we? We're in a bad situation at the moment, but we just have to make the best out of it. That's all we can do right now."

"Relax, huh?" Mitch muttered, a faraway look in his eyes. "That sounds pretty good to me..."

"Ever since we got trapped in this place, I've been so stressed..." Bodil admitted, laughing a little.

"I'm going to the weight room," Ryan said, standing up a little straighter, his blue eyes gleaming with determination. "Just because I'm stuck here doesn't mean I can slack off on my workout, can I? I've got to keep in shape!"

"Sounds like a great idea, Ryan," Jerome said, grinning.

"The more I think about it, this seems like a nice environment for me to draw in..." Bonks murmured.

"I was thinking the same thing," Steven said, smiling slightly.

Gradually, everyone dispersed as they explored the new floor. The feeling in their hearts certainly could not be described as _joyful_ ; however, for the first time in a long while, the remaining 13 participants all felt something that they could call...

...hope.

* * *

The first place Seto went was the infirmary. He figured that if some sort of accident were to happen to someone, he'd need to know where everything was. He pulled out his e-Handbook and scanned it, waiting until the scanner flashed green before opening the door. When he stepped inside, Seto noticed a small screen on the wall near the entrance. The screen read: _SETO. ENTERED 8:56 AM ON DAY 6._

_Huh. I wonder why it logs who entered the infirmary..._

_...Also, it's already been 6 days? It feels like it was only yesterday since everything started..._

6 days. 6 days, and three people were already dead. Seth... Jade...

_...Sky..._

Seto cleared that thought from his mind, ignoring it. He breathed in and out, forcing himself to think of something else. He couldn't go back in time, he had to focus on the present. He had to remember that.

To Seto's surprise, the infirmary was well-kept. There were 8 gurneys lined up on each side of the room, making it 16 in total, and they all had clean blankets and pillows. Between each gurney were nightstands with battery-powered lamps. It looked like a rather comfortable place to sleep in, but unfortunately it was against the rules. Right at that moment, Seto felt his e-Handbook vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and noticed that the "Rules" tab was blinking. He clicked on it and scrolled down, finally stopping at the bottom.

**7\. If a participant is in a debilitated condition and must rest in the infirmary, Rule Number 3 will be overruled for that specific participant only.**

Seto had a strong hunch that MonoWither was watching him right now.

Filled with annoyance, Seto shoved the e-Handbook back in his pocket and continued examining the room. He walked to the back and opened the cabinets there. In the left cabinet were shelves all containing labeled potions of different colors. Seto could tell that they were all Potions of Healing or Strength, and he sighed in relief when he realized that there were no harmful potions inside like he'd been expecting.

In the right cabinet were packets of blood, each labeled with the blood type it contained. Seto checked, making sure all the blood types were there. Suddenly, the blood type listed for every person in their "Character Cast" page made sense.

In the back corners were two doors. The one on the left was a locked door that wouldn't give way, no matter how hard Seto tried. It seemed to lead to a closet of some sort, but whatever was inside was a mystery. Seto had a feeling MonoWither was hiding something in there, but he couldn't think of why. It probably wasn't important anyway. The door on the right led to a unisex bathroom, which had a toilet, a shower room with a seat, and a sink.

"You'd think that MonoWither wouldn't even have an infirmary in the first place, since they want more deaths..." someone behind him muttered.

Seto flinched in surprise and whirled around to see Ashley standing there. "A-Ashley! Don't sneak up on me like that!" he cried out.

"Oh, did I startle you? Sorry, I tend to have that effect..."

Seto looked behind her and noticed that Bodil and Annie were there as well. Bodil jumped onto a gurney and laid down on it, sighing loudly. "This is really comfy!" he remarked, patting the mattress with his hand. Bodil closed his eyes blissfully. "Ah... It makes me feel so peaceful... I wish I could sleep on this thing forever..."

"You could always pretend to break your leg," Annie joked. "MonoWither would let you, then."

Ashley smirked. "Or maybe I should _really_ break your leg, both of them in fact, for good measure."

Bodil's eyes shot open as he jerked up and practically flew off the bed, his face now as white as the sheets. "N-No thank you Ash, I'm good!"

"Ash? You call her Ash? You gave her a nickname and she didn't kill you? Okay, that's it, you two really need to stop flirting and confess, seriously," Annie said, now exasperated. "It was funny at first, but now it's just ridiculous!"

Bodil let out a sound similar to that of a squeaky toy and buried his face in his hands. "Confess?! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"For the last time, we're not 'flirting'," Ashley said, crossing her arms over her chest and rolling her eyes. "Bodil just calls me Ash to keep it short, that's all."

"Y-Yeah... We're just friends..." Bodil said, staring down at the floor awkwardly.

Seto noticed Ashley glance at the Bulgarian before looking away quickly, seemingly flustered as well. He knew next to nothing about romance and whatnot, but even he could tell what was going on between them.

He started to sympathize with Annie...

"Anyway," Annie said, switching the topic, "notice these wheels?" The SDML Archer used her foot to lightly tap one of the gurney's wheels. Said wheel actually consisted of three small wheels positioned in a triangular orientation.

"Half of the gurneys have these wheels," Seto noted, looking around. "The other half have regular wheels."

_"Wow, how observant you two are!"_

Bodil let out a shriek of terror and Ashley sighed. "Here we go again."

MonoWither hovered above them, grinning. "We're so glad you noticed this ingenious invention! These specially-crafted wheels are actually for transporting people up and down stairs! These three wheels put together will essentially "walk" over stairs! Oh, and Ashley, before you say anything, we know you're thinking, 'How does that work! I don't get it! I don't get what you said at all because I'm slow!'"

Ashley raised an eyebrow. _"...Excuse me?"_

"H-Hey, you take that back!" Bodil said indignantly. "Don't insult Ashley that way! She's very smart and you have absolutely no right to talk to her like that!"

Ashley's cheeks were now dusted with a bright pink. "B-Bodil..."

"Ah! Success! We caused an OTP moment!" MonoWither gushed. "Ahhh happy, happy day!"

"What the hell's an OTP?" Annie asked, bewildered. "What's an OTP moment? What?"

Seto knew, but he felt like if he told her then Ashley would have a rather... violent reaction.

"Not important!" MonoWither replied dismissively. "Anyway, that's how the wheels work! If someone on another floor was injured, you could just wheel the gurney down, strap them so that they don't fall off, and carry them back up! Wow, we are just so helpful today! Causing OTP moments, explaining stuff to simpleminded people, we're doing so well as your hosts! If you need anymore help, you can always ask us! Toodles!" The machine vanished, leaving the four in the infirmary.

"Rude..." Ashley muttered with disdain.

"I mean, I'm glad they gave that explanation and all, but _ugh_! That stupid machine always gets on my nerves!" Annie complained.

"They really creep me out," Bodil confessed, shivering.

"We just have to ignore them," Seto said. "Anyway, I think I'm done exploring here..." After making sure that he hadn't missed anything, Seto left the infirmary.

* * *

As Seto walked by the pool, he noticed that there was a large bench sitting in front of the back wall between two doors. The left door said "MEN'S LOCKER ROOM" and the right door said "WOMEN'S LOCKER ROOM". Sitting on one side of the bench were Steven and Bonks, who were each drawing in their own notebooks using pencils. They both seemed very preoccupied with their work, and didn't notice Seto walk past. The artist and the animator, Seto mused thoughtfully. How fitting.

Sitting on the other side of the bench were Bart and Dave. From the look in his purple eyes, Bart appeared to be extremely bored; although, the more Seto thought about it, the more it seemed like Bart was always that way. Dave, on the other hand, was hunched over and tapping frantically on his Gameboy. There was nothing unusual about that either. Seto felt that these two mobs were the only ones who hadn't changed very much since the killing game began. Or maybe, they just never showed it on the outside. Were they unaffected by all the deaths so far? After all, they had never made any significant connection with someone other than Steven...

Seto suddenly remembered the look of horror on Bart's face when he'd seen Jade's body.

_Don't think about that, don't think about that, focus on the present, focus on the present..._

Bart was looking up at something on the ceiling. Seto raised his head and gave a jolt when he saw two giant Gatling guns hanging there. "Wh-What the hell?!" he exclaimed loudly.

Bonks flinched and Steven let out a shriek as he dropped his sketchbook. "Oh, Seto, you startled me! I didn't notice you were there!" Steven said, laughing nervously.

Seto pointed up at the heavy artillery. "What are those doing there?!"

Bonks' face grew dark. "Oh, well you see-"

_"We are so glad you asked us, Seto!"_

Bonks pressed her lips together into a thin line of annoyance. "He wasn't asking you-"

"We're happy to answer your question! Those guns are there to prevent anyone from entering the bathroom that they're not supposed to be in! After all, this isn't that kind of show, and it's not like any of you are transgender or something like that! Anyway, as your respectable hosts, we have high standards for what content is allowed on this show, and so no one can enter the wrong locker room or they'll automatically get the firing squad! Bang bang bang! Pew pew pew! Avada Kedavra! Begone, perverts!"

"But what if someone took another person's e-Handbook and entered the locker room that way?" Seto asked. "What then?"

MonoWither's eyes widened. "Woah, that's... actually a question we don't have an answer for... um... Well then! That means it's time for another rule!"

Seto felt his e-Handbook vibrate again. He, Bonks, and Steven all pulled theirs out and saw what MonoWither had added.

**8\. No participant may use another participant's e-Handbook to enter rooms.**

"There, now we've effectively stopped all possible illicit activity from happening!" MonoWither declared proudly. "So keep that in mind, Bonks and Steven! No using each other as nude models, no nsfw stuff, all right? Do that in your personal rooms, but don't do that in the locker rooms!"

"Wh-What?!" Steven cried out, his voice an octave higher than usual. "N-Nude models?!" Bart placed his hand on his forehead and shook his head, unamused. Dave was actually compelled to pause the game and look up, horrified.

"E-Ew, I think you're the perverted one here!" Bonks shouted.

"No we're not, we are a Wither and Withers have no such thoughts! You should be thinking about your own thoughts, Bonks! Don't be a hypocrite!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Anyway, what's more important is that we just caused another OTP moment! This is a new record! Two OTP moments in a day! Ahhh, today is just going by so wonderfully!" MonoWither shrieked with glee, cackling madly before disappearing.

"What's an OTP?" Steven asked, tilting his head with confusion. "Bonks, do you know?"

Bonks suddenly looked embarrassed. "I- I don't know either..." she lied.

"Oh... Oh well. There's no point in trying to understand MonoWither." Steven shrugged noncommittally before picking up his sketchbook again.

_...Does MonoWither ship Bonks and Steven? That's weird..._

Seto walked up to the boy's locker room, figuring that it wouldn't hurt to check inside. He scanned his e-Handbook before entering. Inside he saw a room for bathroom stalls to the left and another room for shower stalls to the right. In the main room there was a row of 12 iron lockers sitting by the wall, each with a name tag and keyhole. Seto found the locker with his name on it and used his room key to unlock the door. He opened the locker and saw a pair of swim trunks, a razor, and bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and shaving cream all lying on a shelf. Did MonoWither have some sort of obsession with personal hygiene or something?

Seto lifted up the swim trunks, which were pure black. For some reason Seto felt relieved that it wasn't designed to look like MonoWither's face or something like that.

 _"Aren't you going to try them on?"_ Seto didn't even bother to turn around to face the machine hovering behind him. He just stayed put and remained silent. "Oopsies, did we scare you into silence?" MonoWither asked innocently.

"Leave me alone," Seto muttered, tossing the swim trunks back in the locker.

"You didn't answer our question! Aren't you going to try on the swim trunks we so generously provided for you? They fit perfectly!"

"Why should I? I'm not a swimmer."

"Is that so? Or is it really because you don't want to remove that hood of yours?"

Seto grit his teeth, refusing to say a word.

"Aw, you're so tense! Relax, Seto! We're not going to hurt you!" MonoWither chided. "You know, your magical cloak has a really cool creeper design, so we get why you wouldn't want to take it off, but still! Why don't you just remove the hood?"

"Because I don't feel like it," Seto replied as calmly as he could.

"Oh really? You know, you have no problem with taking off that cloak when you go to sleep. But when you're around people? That hood and cloak stays on! In fact, the only time you went out in public in something other than that cloak was during Sky's wedding, when you wore a proper suit for once!"

"What, did you expect me to show up at his wedding without any formal clothes?" Seto asked through his teeth.

"No, it's just... Maybe you just have some problem with a certain scar on the back of your head that you don't want others to see!"

Without thinking, Seto slammed the locker shut and whirled around to face MonoWither, whose grin widened. "Ooh, did we touch a sore spot there?" they asked, giggling devilishly.

"Sh-Shut up!" Seto yelled, all self-control going out the window as he let his emotions get the better of him.

"It's not healthy you know," MonoWither pointed out candidly. "How bad can a scar be? What, are you afraid the rest of them are going to ask questions about it? Like how you got it?"

Seto clung onto the sides of his hood, instinctively lowering as much of it as possible over his face. "Get out! Leave me alone!" he cried out, hunching over.

"Or maybe it's not just the scar, you _did_ use a spell to hide that scar for the wedding after all... But maybe it's not a physical thing. Maybe you're not just afraid others will see the scar. Maybe wearing that hood makes you feel safer... Like it's a shield protecting you from the outside world..."

"The hell do you think you are, a goddamn psychologist?" Seto asked with contempt, his hands beginning to tremble as they continued clutching onto the hood.

"Well it seems like we're right, aren't we? You have a serious social anxiety problem, and your hood is your only comfort zone! Take it off in front of the others, and you might just totally lose it and freak out!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Seto shrieked. "Why don't you just fuck off! Get the hell out of here, goddamn it!"

"Wow, sudden cursing too? Clear indication that you know we're right! You're like an open book once you get riled up, honestly Seto, you have absolutely no control over yourself!"

_No control over yourself..._

_No control..._

_No control..._

Seto felt his whole body quaking violently as he pressed his back against the cold metal locker, his weak legs giving way as he slowly sunk down to the floor. "F-fuck off... fuck off... Sh-Shut the hell up..." Seto whispered, struggling to keep his breathing steady. It didn't really work.

"We wonder how much you're hiding underneath all that... What secrets you're keeping inside, locked away..." MonoWither said, still giggling madly.

Seto's hands flashed a brilliant purple as he quickly formed a force field around himself, desperate for anything to shield himself from MonoWither. MonoWither was cackling like the Devil himself, gleefully taking pleasure in Seto's agony. Seto brought his knees to his chest, which ached tremendously. It felt like his pounding heart was about to burst out of his ribcage. Seto's brown eyes were wide with panic as he hyperventilated, staring into space as his mind began to swirl.

He lost track of time. The seconds slowly trickled into minutes as he sat there, muscles all tense, shivering erratically and clinging onto his hood as though it was a lifeline. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't shake off MonoWither's words... He couldn't focus...

_Seto?_

Seto didn't react at first. He didn't even register someone had spoken.

_Oh my god, Seto, what happened? What's wrong? Seto?! Can you hear me?!_

Oh, was someone talking to him? Seto slowly raised his head and found himself staring up at Steven, Bart, and Dave, who were all standing outside the magical barrier.

"Seto? Seto what's going on?" Steven asked frantically. "Seto, answer me!"

Seto didn't respond. He just stared back down at the floor and shut his eyes tightly, trying unsuccessfully to cover his whole face with his hood.

Terrified, Steven tried to hit the force field, but Bart put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head, signaling him to calm down. "...Seto, just put the force field down," Steven said quietly. "Everything's okay. I'm... I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

Seto's chest heaved as he desperately gasped for air. It was so hard to breathe, he felt so lightheaded, like he was about to throw up...

"Seto? Are you listening to me?"

It took a few seconds before Seto slowly let the force field fade away, watching as it dissipated into the air. Steven knelt down in front of the sorcerer, who was still quivering in fear. "...Are you okay?" the SDML Mob Observer asked, not sure what else to ask.

Seto opened his mouth to speak, but his mouth felt too dry. "I..." He swallowed nervously and did his best to regulate his breathing. "I..."

Steven reached out a hand to Seto, who flinched and shied away. He drew his hand back quickly, afraid he'd made things worse. "It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you," Steven repeated.

Seto hated the... _pitying_ look in Steven's face. He didn't need pity. He didn't deserve pity. Steven didn't understand at all. "I'm fine," Seto muttered, finally letting go of his gray hood and letting his hands drop to the floor. God, he must look absolutely pathetic right now, just sitting there after having completely lost it...

Steven bit his lip. "You were in here for a long time... 10 minutes I think... Bonks and I were worried you'd gotten hurt somehow..."

"I'm fine," Seto said again, his tone a little more spiteful.

"Are you sure? Your face is really pale-"

"I said I was fine, didn't I?!" Seto said, glaring at Steven.

Steven cringed. "S-Sorry..."

Seto stared down at the floor, filled with remorse. He shouldn't have done that. Steven was only trying to help him.

Steven piped up again. "Did... Did MonoWither-"

"No. No they didn't."

"I didn't even finish what-"

"They didn't do anything."

Steven helplessly looked up at Bart and Dave, as though asking them for advice, but neither of them had any to give. They did look very worried though.

"L-Look, Steven, I appreciate your concern, but..." Seto swallowed again. "I just really need to be alone right now..."

Steven stared at him, unsure of what to do. "...Okay Seto, if you say so..." he whispered, standing up. "If... If you want... You can always talk to me, you know? I'm not really good at giving advice or stuff like that, but... I'm a good listener at least..." When Seto didn't respond, the three walked away, their footsteps echoing in the cold, empty locker room.

The moment Seto heard the door close, he leaned his head back against the locker, exhaling loudly as he looked up at the ceiling. He sat there for a few minutes, collecting his thoughts. Seto was afraid MonoWither would take advantage of this opportunity and return for more "entertainment" at his expense, but fortunately for him, they did not.

After he felt like he'd calmed down for the most part, Seto slowly stood up, leaning against the locker for support. With shaky steps, Seto walked out of the locker room to see that Bonks and Steven were still there, as well as Bart and Dave. "Oh, Seto! You're back!" Bonks exclaimed.

"Are you all right?" Steven asked quietly.

Seto nodded. "I'm better now...Thanks Steven..." he said in a hushed voice.

"I didn't do anything though..." Steven admitted shamefully.

"I couldn't go in the men's locker room..." Bonks muttered.

Seto shook his head. "No, it's fine. Thanks for checking up on me. It... really means a lot to me." Without waiting for a response, he headed over to the steps and walked down to the first floor. It was still about 10 in the morning, but Seto felt like he was done with everything for the day. He was extremely tired, exhausted even. He didn't feel like he could handle anymore of this.

Maybe he should take another warm shower, and then take an afternoon nap before coming out for dinner. Actually before all that, he'd seen some chocolate ice cream in the fridge, right? A bowl of chocolate ice cream... a warm shower... a long nap... Yeah, that all sounded really nice... He deserved to give himself a treat after all that had happened these past few days, right?

Filled with slight hope, Seto quietly made his way back to his room.

* * *

**MONOWITHER THEATER**

**Wow, it's been quite awhile since we've done one of these, hasn't it? Our deepest apologies! We were just so caught up on recent events, as well as the ever-so-intriguing topic of bats.**

**Why bats, you ask? We're sure most of you have heard the popular idiom "blind as a** **bat** **". But did you know that most bats can see perfectly fine in the daylight? The idiom is utterly false! It's an outrage! An injustice! How dare human beings defile such a unique animal species by accusing them of such a falsehood!**

**But anyway, in conclusion, it is a pure misconception that bats cannot see just because they lurk fearsomely in the darkness of the night...**

**We wonder what else is commonly misunderstood by the majority of people?**


	16. Drowning One's Sorrows

**DING DONG, DING DONG**

**Good morning, bastards! It's 7 in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to have fun and entertain the audience today!**

* * *

It was now 7:30 in the morning, and Seto was sitting in the cafeteria all by himself, sipping a soothingly warm cup of dandelion tea.

Now that Jade was dead, it appeared that he had taken her role as "earliest to make an appearance".

The thought was bitterly amusing for some reason, Seto contemplated, as he stared off into space.

The silence of the morning was promptly shattered when Mitch, Jerome, and Ryan barged in, chattering boisterously amongst themselves.

"It's obvious that _I'm_ the strongest out of everyone!" Ryan declared, flexing his arms. "Do you see my muscles? I'm totally ripped!"

"Are you kidding me?" Jerome replied, grinning. "You can't beat me! I can cut down a tree with two swipes of an axe!"

"You don't count, you're a bacca! You're an outlier!" Ryan replied with a wave of the hand. "Besides you, I'm definitely the strongest!"

"I doubt it," Mitch said cheekily.

"Is that a challenge?!" Ryan asked, his blue eyes flashing with interest.

"Maybe it is! It's a challenge to see if your pride is justified!" Mitch proclaimed, puffing his chest.

"Hey Seto!" Jerome yelled.

Seto looked up from his empty cup of tea. "...Hmm?"

"Who do you think is the strongest person here? Mitch or Ryan?"

Mitch and Ryan immediately dove the seats in front of Seto on the other side of the table. "Come on Seto! Pick the obvious answer!" Ryan shouted, placing his right elbow on the table and flexing furiously.

"Muscles aren't everything!" Mitch retorted, grabbing Ryan's hand with his right one. "It's about who has the best stamina!" They started to arm wrestle intensely.

"Just because you're a Hunger Games Champion doesn't mean anything!" Ryan yelled, pushing against Mitch's force.

"Just because you're a Cops N' Robbers warden doesn't mean anything!" Mitch retaliated, also struggling to push Ryan's arm down.

Meanwhile, Jerome was laughing hysterically. "Well come on, Seto! Don't get distracted! Choose!"

Seto could practically smell the testosterone emanating from their muscular bodies. "U-Um... Um..." he stammered, blushing. "You're... both equally strong?"

They let go of each other's hand. "That's bullcrap, Seto!" Mitch shouted.

"This settles nothing!" Ryan declared, punching his palm with his other fist. "I know how to settle this once and for all..."

"No, wait!" Seto cried out, standing up. "Don't fight!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Jerome chanted, banging his paws against the table. "Let's settle this with a match of SUMOTORIII!"

"No, there's no need for that! Uh, why don't we have a weight-lifting competition instead?" Seto asked.

Mitch and Ryan turned to Seto, intrigued. "I'm listening..." Mitch said.

"Um, well, you two can have a peaceful competition of weight-lifting to see who's the stronger one? Without fighting each other?" Seto asked.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Ryan said, his eyes glinting rather dangerously as he puffed out his chest. "Weight-lifting is my _element_!"

Seto began to wonder if he had just made a terrible, terrible mistake. It was too late to take everything back though.

"Then it is _ON!_ " Mitch yelled, smacking his fists against the table. Seto's cup of tea clattered against the table and Seto had to grab it so it wouldn't fall off.

"I'll beat everyone who dares challenge me!" Ryan asserted, smacking his fists as well before rising up and running over to the refrigerator. "I've got to drink a protein shake!"

"Hah! Protein shake?" Mitch asked mockingly as he plugged in the blender. "All-natural, organic smoothies are where it's at! That synthesized, artificial stuff isn't necessary!"

Seto stared at them, utterly bewildered. Meanwhile, Jerome was having the time of his life. "My gawd..." Jerome remarked, giggling uncontrollably. "This is going to be the most glorious moment of my life. Everyone needs to see this..."

* * *

It was 9:00 am, and because of Jerome's persistence, everyone had gone to the weight room to watch the whole thing go down. Well, almost everyone at least. Tyler still hadn't made an appearance since the day before...

It bothered Seto, but MonoWither had apparently told Jerome that Tyler was doing perfectly fine and that there was no need to worry about him. It wasn't exactly reassuring, coming from the sadistic machine, but Seto figured that Tyler just needed to be by himself for awhile and sort out his own personal thoughts.

A small, guilty part of him didn't want to see Tyler at all, because he didn't want to be reminded about all the terrible events that had happened before. He didn't want to think about anything like that, ever again...

_Focus on the present,_ Seto reminded himself.

All the people watching, including Seto, were currently sitting on the nearby benches. Ryan and Mitch were standing side-by-side, each sporting determined expressions on their faces as they stretched their muscles. Jerome stood in front of them, a wide grin on his face. "It's time for this competition to begin! I decided to take the pleasure of choosing what you're both going to do! You see this tire here?" With ease, the bacca lifted up a large rubber tire and rolled it between the two. "You two are going to push this 300-pound tire against each other, kind of like a see-saw! And the first one who can't push back and drops the tire loses."

"300 pounds?!" Ryan asked, rolling his eyes. "Hah! That's too easy!"

"E-Easy?!" Bodil squeaked. "I can only use tires for box jumps, not pushes!"

Mitch flashed Ryan a challenging smile. "Well if you think it's so 'easy', why don't we use a heavier tire?!"

Jason looked ready to pass out. "A heavier one? Are you two crazy?!"

"Someone's going to hurt themselves, just watch..." Husky muttered.

"Geez buddies, this was the biggest size!" Jerome said, alarmed. "Anyway, let's begin! Who will win this competition? Will it be Ryan, the handsome, strong Cops N' Robbers warden? Or will it be Mitch, the dashing, lithe Hunger Games Champion? Let's find out in 3, 2, 1!" Jerome let go of the rubber tire and Ryan pushed it towards Mitch, who promptly pushed it back. They kept a steady pace, pushing the tire back and forth.

A few moments passed in relative silence. Seto began to feel a little fidgety and squirmed uncomfortably. How long was this going to last? He couldn't be the only one who was bored, right?

"Why am I watching this again?" Annie asked, leaning back on the bench with a sigh of irritation.

"Because there is honestly nothing better to do," Jordan muttered.

"Well we can't just leave... it would be kind of rude..." Steven said hesitantly. Bart gave him a rather frustrated look, as though the Enderman really didn't care about if he was being rude or not. Dave, meanwhile, was still entertaining himself with his Gameboy.

"Who do you guys think will win?" Bonks asked.

"Does it even matter?" Ashley questioned, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I'd join in on the fun but this seems more like a contest of pride than strength. Plus, I haven't worked out in awhile. I haven't been in the mood lately."

"I think Ryan's going to win," Bodil said. "I mean, look at those muscles on his arms... I feel like if he gave me a handshake he'd crush my hand..." The SDML Traceur tittered nervously at the thought.

"But Mitch is the Hunger Games Champion, isn't he?" Jordan asked. "Although as an occasional PVPer myself, I guess sparring isn't necessarily an indication of muscle strength... There's also a need for tactics and strategy..."

"Didn't Ryan win first place on that 'Top 10 Hottest Single Bachelors' list or something?" Husky asked.

"Damn right I did!" Ryan said, still pushing with as much force as before, although he had slowed down somewhat.

"No... fair... if I wasn't dating Jess... I'd definitely be Number 1..." Mitch replied through wheezy breaths. His movements were clearly getting weaker, Seto noted.

"Pfft, of _course_ you'd pay attention to that list, Husky!" Jason laughed. "Is that how you're trying to get a date?"

"E-Excuse me, it's not my fault Ryan shared that list on every single social media account he had!" Husky replied indignantly.

"Why'd he win Number 1?" Seto asked, curious.

"Because it seems like every single girl on this planet really likes his physique..." Annie replied. "The website had a bunch of gifs of him on his Cops N' Robbers show. The most popular wardens are the most muscular ones, I swear... Plus, there's his seemingly "chivalrous" personality, don't know where they got _that_ from though. In any case, I'm not interested in romantic stuff, so I don't really pay attention to these things."

There was silence as they turned back to the competition at hand.

"Um, I think you two should stop..." Steven said, concern in his voice. "If you keep going... someone could get hurt-"

"Never!" Ryan declared.

Mitch didn't even have the strength to reply. It seemed like every time the tire came back, it took longer and longer for him to muster the strength to push it back.

Annie sighed loudly. "Hubris will be both of your downfalls..."

Right when she said that, Mitch suddenly let out a cry before the tire slipped from his hands. It crashed to the floor with a booming thud that made Seto flinch and instinctively grip the side of his hood, even though he'd seen it coming. Mitch put his hands on his knees and panted laboriously, staring down at the floor.

"Hah! I knew I'd win! I knew- Mitch?" Ryan asked, his victorious, gloating speech suddenly cutting off as he realized the full extent of Mitch's exhaustion. Mitch looked ready to collapse, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and it didn't seem like he could catch his breath.

"Biggums? Jerome asked, also worried. "You okay there?"

Husky immediately stood up and rushed to Mitch's side. "You see, I told you someone was going to get hurt-"

"I'm fine..." Mitch said, raising a shaky hand to stop Husky. "Just... Just give me a moment..."

Ryan wordlessly handed a water bottle to Mitch, who took it and chugged the liquid down. He gulped down about half the bottle before stopping, gasping for breath and wiping his mouth. His pants had subsided somewhat, although his face was still as red as a tomato.

"Do you feel like throwing up?" Jordan asked.

Seto stared at Mitch with concern. "Did you hurt any muscles?"

Mitch shook his head to answer both questions.

"All right, you need to sit down dood," Jerome muttered, steering Mitch over to an empty bench. Mitch gratefully plopped down on the seat and took more sips from the water bottle. The rest of the people all surrounded him.

"You... You guys don't need to fuss over me..." Mitch said quietly, laughing softly. "I pushed myself too hard... that's all..."

"If I noticed you were struggling like that, I would have stopped!" Ryan said indignantly. "Well, actually I don't think I would have, and I guess you were really determined, but know your limits!"

"I guess Annie was right... when she said hubris would be my downfall..." Mitch said with a wry smile.

Annie huffed. "Damn right I was correct. At least you didn't actually hurt yourself!"

Mitch began coughing. "Guess you won this one... Ryan... Can't settle this with sumotori either-"

"Stop talking and drink more water!" Ryan ordered. Mitch obeyed.

There was a long silence. No one else really knew what to say. To say that they hadn't seen something like this coming would be a lie, but at the same time there was some sort of... dejected mood coming from Mitch. Seto wondered how hard Mitch had really taken that loss emotionally, but then threw that thought out. Mitch was prideful, but he wasn't _that_ prideful.

"So I guess this competition's over," Jerome said in a cheerful voice, trying to lift up the mood. "I think we should eat lunch, and then afterwards why don't we all do something that doesn't require a lot of physical effort huh? I know what we can do..."

* * *

After lunch, everyone (except Tyler, who was still absent) found themselves back in the weight room, only now they were sitting in a circle. "So let's start this round of 'Never Have I Ever'!" Jerome declared. "We've got no alcohol, but whatever!"

Bart suddenly nudged Steven's back, as though persuading him to do something. "U-Um... If you don't mind me asking... What's 'Never Have I Ever'? How do you play it?" Steven asked.

"Oh, you don't know? You never played it before?" Jordan asked in surprise.

Steven stared down at the floor rather awkwardly. "No..."

"Wow, guess I'm not the only one who has no clue how to play this game," Seto said, laughing a little.

"Same here," Ashley admitted.

Steven's eyes brightened a little at those statements.

"Well the rules are pretty simple!" Jason said. "Each person has a turn to say something like 'Never have I ever done this!' and whoever _has_ done said thing takes a drink!"

Hmm. This seemed like an interesting, harmless game... At least for Seto...

"But... with no alcohol..." Ryan said. "How are we going to do this?"

"I know! Every time you lose you have to do something _embarrassing_!" Mitch declared, a devilish smile crossing his face.

"No! No embarrassing things! We can just have, um, 12 lives!" Bodil suggested rather frantically. "Instead of taking drinks we raise our hands to show we lost a life and whoever loses the least amount of lives wins the round."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Annie said. "Never saw the point in alcohol anyway..."

"So are we ready to start now?" Jerome asked.

Murmurs of agreement filled the room. Seto was glad they were doing a fun, calm activity to pass the time...

"I am so ready to win this game!" Ryan shouted.

"Then let's begin! I'll start, and we'll go clockwise from there!" Jerome declared. "Never have I ever... been a human!"

_"YOU MOTHERFUCKING SON OF A BITCH!"_ Ryan shrieked loudly amid peals of laughter from the rest of the participants.

Maybe Seto needed to take back the "calm" description...

Everyone raised their hands except for Husky and Bonks. It was now Steven's turn. "Um... Let's see... Never have I ever... played this game before?"

Loud groans filled the room as everyone except for Ashley and Seto raised their hands. Steven couldn't resist smiling. "You saw your once-in-a-lifetime chance and you took it, didn't you?" Jordan asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yep, I had to take the opportunity..." Steven replied, laughing quietly. He seemed to be easing his way into the group, appearing much more comfortable than before.

This left most people with 10 lives, while Bonks, Husky, Seto, Ashley, Jerome, and Steven had 11. It was now Bonks' turn. "Never have I ever... had non-pink eyes before."

"Are you serious?" Annie deadpanned.

"Why is everyone so good at this game?" Jason complained. "And here I thought I'd have a chance..."

Everyone except for Bonks lost a point there. All eyes now turned to Ashley. "...Never have I ever... gotten drunk before?" she asked tentatively. "I couldn't think of anything else..."

There was a slow pause before everyone except Steven raised their hands.

"What? I'm the only one besides Ashley who's never done that?" Steven asked, a little shocked.

"I'm surprised _Seto's_ gotten drunk before," Mitch pointed out.

"Yeah, you don't seem like the type to drink..." Husky said.

"It was the first and last time I ever decided to drink alcohol," Seto admitted. "It's just not for me."

"I wonder what made you decide to never drink again," Jerome said, grinning. "Did you do something extremely embarrassing?"

Seto felt his face flush red. "N-No! I don't even remember what I did, and that was the problem! I also felt really crappy afterwards when I woke up with a hangover..."

"Well you've got a point there," Jordan agreed. "That's why I only get tipsy every once in awhile."

The majority now had 8 lives, Husky, Jerome, and Seto had 9, and Ashley, Bonks, and Steven were now tied for 10.

"I've been losing every round, come on..." Ryan muttered.

It was now Bodil's turn. "Never have I ever broken a bone before!"

"GODDAMNIT!" Ryan shrieked again.

"Oh no Ryan, what did you say before about winning?" Jerome asked cheekily.

"Be quiet!" Ryan snapped. "I still have a chance!"

Mitch, Jordan, and Ryan all dropped down to 7, Husky dropped down to tie with Annie, Jerome, Jason, and Bodil for 8, Ashley dropped down to tie with Seto for 9, and Bonks and Steven remained at 10.

Annie sat there, pondering what to say. "Never have I ever... screamed while watching a horror movie before."

Seto had tried to watch a horror movie once out of mere curiosity, but turned it off 10 minutes in when a poor innocent woman was stabbed and mutilated to death. He hadn't screamed though, so he supposed that meant he wasn't supposed to raise his hand.

"Oh come on Ryan, raise your hand!" Mitch demanded. "You screamed like a little girl when watching 'Herobrine's Haunting'!"

Ryan's cheeks turned a dark shade of red. "You did _not_ have to announce that for everybody to hear!"

"Aw Ryan, don't worry," Jason said reassuringly. "I couldn't sleep after watching that movie."

"I saw the preview and didn't even bother. I value my personal sanity, thank you very much!" Husky said.

"I don't like horror movies at all..." Steven whispered.

Bonks shivered. "Neither do I."

Mitch and Ryan dropped down to 6 lives (ironically they were now the losing ones), Jordan remained at 7 and was joined by Husky, Jerome, Jason, and Bodil, Annie stayed at 8, and Bonks and Steven both dropped down to tie with Ashley and Seto for 9 lives.

Now it was Seto's turn. "Never have I ever gone swimming before."

"Woah, _never_?" Ashley asked incredulously.

"You don't know how to swim at all?" Bodil questioned.

"Nope."

"Do you want me to teach you?" Husky offered.

Seto shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. I just never had the need to learn, you know, being a sorcerer and all."

"I don't like swimming," Jerome murmured. "It ruins my fluffy fur and slows me down..."

Everyone except Seto lost a point there, making Seto the leader. Their attention now shifted to Jason, who looked really excited about something. "Never have I ever gotten drunk and skinny-dipped in a lake in front of everyone at a party!"

"That's... um... really specific there..." Jordan said, his eyes wide with bewilderment.

Husky looked furious. "Excuse me, did you seriously use your turn just to target me?!"

Jason grinned devilishly. "So what if I did?"

"What did I ever do to you?!"

"Hey, you're the one who just up and admitted it!"

"Because that's how the game works! We have to be honest!"

"Shaming oneself in public... This is why I don't drink," Ashley muttered.

"Oh my god Husky, how many people were at that party?" Jerome asked, laughing.

"You don't want to know! I don't want to talk about it!" the mudkip replied, thoroughly embarrassed.

"There were probably like 30 people there, and I was one of them!" Jason said proudly.

"Can we _please_ move on from this topic?!" Husky asked, flustered. "Oh- Oh wait, it's my turn... Um... Never have I ever drunkenly flirted with a bunch of older dudes and tried to strip for them!"

Seto suddenly choked on his own spit and had to be patted on the back by Annie.

Jason looked affronted. "Did you just-"

Husky grinned. "Karma's a bitch, isn't it?"

"My gawd Jason, how did they react?" Mitch asked amid peals of laughter.

"Don't ask..." Jason muttered. "They didn't appreciate my handsomeness at all..."

Mitch, Ryan, Husky, and Jason were now down to 5, Jordan, Jerome, and Bodil were at 6, Annie was at 7, Bonks, Steven, and Ashley were at 8, and Seto was still at 9.

Jordan thought carefully. "Never have I ever gone to an amusement park."

There was silence.

"Oh come on, I'm the only one here?" Jordan asked. "Well, I suck at this game."

"I think you should lose a life yourself, honestly..." Ryan said.

"Yeah, that's fair."

Seto had been to an amusement park once and had a lot more fun than he'd expected. Sky had been the one who insisted on taking him, along with Ty and Kyle and Brice and-

_No no no no focus on the present focus on the_ _present-_

"Woah Seto, you all right there?" Mitch asked, concerned.

"You look a little nauseous right now..." Bodil pointed out.

_FOCUS. ON. THE. PRESENT._

"Yeah I'm fine, just thought about that time I almost threw up on a ride! Haha... There were a lot of loops..." Seto said, trailing off.

Everyone laughed in sympathy, making Seto feel relieved. _Nice save._

"Is it my turn now?" Ryan asked. "Okay... Here goes. Never have I ever gone on a date before."

There was a shocked silence. For a moment, people forgot to raise their hands.

"You? OF ALL PEOPLE?" Husky asked, shocked.

Ryan grinned and shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say? I have extremely selective tastes. I'm picky. I haven't found a single person worthy to date yet."

"Man, you're the Number One hottest single bachelor out there and you've never even dated before..." Jason muttered in disbelief.

"Jerome?" Mitch asked quietly. "You okay biggums?"

Seto looked to see that Jerome's eyes were filled with sadness. "H-Huh? Oh, yeah... Just... thought of Louise..."

Horror flashed across Ryan's face. "Oh god I'm sorry Jerome, I shouldn't have brought that up-"

"No it's fine. I'm just really hoping that... if those videos were fake... then after all this, I can see Louise again," Jerome said, chuckling sadly. "There's something I've been meaning to tell her..."

Mitch patted Jerome's shoulder. "Like I told you before, I'm sure you'll get the chance to tell her soon enough... Plus, I miss Jess myself. It'll be fine, those videos have to be fake. We'll get out of here soon enough, and we can see them again."

There was a long pause.

"Oh, am I the last one?" Mitch asked. "Oh, okay then. Never have I ever been right-handed." Everyone else raised their hands except for Mitch. "Hah! I knew it! I'm the only lefty here!" Mitch declared, like it was an achievement.

Seto briefly wondered if being ambidextrous counted... He felt like it didn't.

"So that's full circle!" Jerome said, his cheer returning. "I guess we should tally up the lives."

"I was keeping track," Ashley said, pointing at Seto. "Seto's the winner with 8 lives remaining."

"Woah, Seto, you won!" Bodil declared. "Congratulations!"

"Is this an achievement? It feels more like I've never experienced a lot of common things..." Seto muttered.

"So do we play again? Or do we play something else?" Bonks asked.

"Any suggestions?" Jordan inquired.

"I've got the perfect idea!" Jason declared. "All right, who's up for a round of _strip poker_?!"

Everyone reacted at the same time. _"JASON NO!"_

"What's strip poker?" Steven asked, confused yet slightly scared.

"...You don't need to know," Seto replied.

* * *

When it was time for dinner, everyone left to go to the cafeteria, except for Seto. After being trapped in this place, his appetite had become almost nonexistent. Being an introvert, he also felt drained and tired from all the social interaction, so he decided to go back to his room and take a nap for a couple hours.

When Seto woke up, he checked the time to see that it was 9:45. _Maybe I should get a snack... I've got 15 minutes before Night Time begins, I can make it..._ he thought as he got out of bed.

As Seto approached the cafeteria, he suddenly heard a strange sound. It almost sounded like... sobbing?

_Huh, that's strange..._

Seto ran inside and stopped once he saw who was there.

Tyler was sitting on a chair and slumped over the table, his head buried in his arms. His muffled sobs shook his whole body.

Seto's eyes widened as he raced to Tyler's side. "Tyler?!" he asked with concern as he shook his friend's shoulder. Tyler merely sobbed harder as he pressed his face further into his arms on the table, shying away from Seto's touch. "Hey hey hey, look at me... It's okay..." Seto whispered, placing his hand on Tyler's back.

Tyler slowly raised his head and stared at Seto with bloodshot eyes. His glasses were smudged and his face was blotched with red. He sniffled miserably. "S... S... Seto...?" he slurred almost incoherently.

Seto felt the hair on the back of his neck rise with apprehension when he caught the strong, musty scent of alcohol in Tyler's breath. He looked at the table and finally noticed the half-empty beer bottle in front of Tyler. The label said, "MonoWither's Specially-Brewed Beer - Please DON'T drink responsibly!"

_Of course_ _MonoWither_ _would have something like that._

"I... I..." Tyler stammered before hiccupping. "I couldn't help it... I..." Tyler's face suddenly twisted in pain before he gripped onto Seto's shoulders and buried his face in his cloak, bursting into loud wails.

"What?!" Seto asked, shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"Sky- Jade- Seth-" Tyler hiccupped through his tears. "They- They died and I- I didn't do anything-!" Tyler clung onto Seto for dear life. "I'M SO SORRY!"

"Tyler..." Seto said, too stunned to speak properly.

Tyler continued to weep inconsolably. It was like a dam inside of him had burst, and now the tears wouldn't stop flowing. Seto patted his back in an attempt to comfort him. "Shh... It's okay Tyler... It's okay..." The front of his cloak felt uncomfortably warm and wet from the tears, and the alcohol smell made his hair stand on edge, but he didn't care about that right now.

A few minutes passed before Tyler's sobs finally subsided into mere whimpers. He continued to press his face against Seto's cloak as he trembled like a fragile leaf. Seto held Tyler's shoulders and gently pushed him away. "Do you... feel better now?" Seto asked hesitantly.

Tyler stared at him vacantly before turning away and reaching for the bottle. Seto immediately snatched it from his grasp, holding it away from him. "H-Heeey... Setooo...! Give it baaack...!" Tyler whined. He tried to lunge forward and grab it back, but he ended up just falling off the chair and toppling onto the floor.

Seto hurled the bottle as far away from them as possible. It crashed against the wall and shattered, staining the floor with the rest of the beer.

_"Ugh, Seto!"_ an all-too familiar voice complained. _"Don't do that, now we have to clean that up!"_

Tyler's reaction was unexpected. "N-No-!" he cried out, covering his ears with his hands and kneeling onto the floor. "G-Go away! M-Make them go away!"

Seto knelt down beside him, startled. "Tyler?!" he asked frantically.

"I know it's my fault already!" Tyler shrieked hysterically, smacking his head on the ground.

"Woah, stop that!" Seto grabbed Tyler's head to stop him.

"J-Just leave me alo-one, MonoWither!" The poor man broke down into keening wails of anguish once more.

Seto tensed, suddenly realizing the meaning of Tyler's words. "Care to explain?" he hissed in a deadly voice as he turned to MonoWither, who was grinning.

"We're afraid we don't know what you're talking about, Seto!" MonoWither replied cheekily.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Seto demanded.

"We're insulted, Seto! We didn't do anything! It's not like we _made_ Tyler get totally wasted! The label _does_ say 'DON'T drink responsibly', but still! Don't go pinning this on us!"

"It's... my fault..." Tyler whispered. "I know... already... just stop telling me..."

"Did you say something to him?" Seto continued icily.

"Well, we _maaay_ have said a few words to him... But they were all truthful words, honest! It's not our fault he decided to get drunk in order to forget about what we said! Geez, the guy has serious problems demonstrating his true emotions..." MonoWither muttered.

_"Get out of this room."_

"Wow, that's so rude! If anything, you two are the ones who need to get out of here! After all, Night Time's almost here, and we need to close the cafeteria! But we'll be nice and give you an extra couple of minutes, how about that?"

"Just GET OUT ALREADY!" Seto yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you? What did Tyler do to you?"

"Like we said, we just said truthful words! And you know what? Wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity?" MonoWither asked.

"A perfect opportunity for you to leave?" Seto asked.

"No, what we meant was that it's not like Tyler can defend himself in any way, now can he?" MonoWither questioned, tilting their heads innocently.

"N-No...!" Tyler cried out, backing away from Seto and covering his head with his hands in a poor attempt to shield himself. "P-Please...! Don't kill me please!"

"Go on Seto, do it!" MonoWither goaded. "Boil him, stick him, mash him in stew! Boil him, stick him, mash him in stew!" he chanted gleefully over and over again.

As he stared at Tyler's pitiful figure and heard MonoWither's words, Seto swore he saw red at that moment. "SHUT THE FUCK UP! GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!"

MonoWither cackled heartily before disappearing.

Curled up on the floor, Tyler whimpered and peeked out to look up at Seto. "Are... they gone...?" he said, his words sounding heavier than usual.

"Yeah. They're gone," Seto replied, his hands still balled into fists.

"Are- Are you gonna kill me?" Tyler squeaked.

"...Of course not."

Tyler moved his arms sluggishly as he tried to pick himself up, but his arms wobbled before collapsing underneath him. "Here, let me help you," Seto murmured as he grabbed his shoulders.

Tyler swatted Seto's hand away. "Nooo... I'm good... I can do it myself..." he slurred. "'S all good Seto... 'M fine..."

As someone who generally abstained from alcohol, Seto was used to being the one to deal with his drunk friends, so without complaining, Seto did his best to help Tyler up. The fact that Tyler clearly did not have the ability to stand upright without falling over made everything harder, but Seto somehow managed to get Tyler's arm around his neck.

"Why do you have to be so _tall_?" Seto muttered to himself, grunting with the exertion.

"W-Wassat?" Tyler asked as he staggered forward and almost tipped over.

Seto sighed as he straightened himself, ignoring the pain of having to support 180 pounds of an adult man who had no sense of balance whatsoever. "Nothing. Just... keep holding onto me."

"Woo... The ground is spinning..." Tyler giggled tipsily as he swayed back and forth. "Spinny spin spin spin..." Seto let Tyler steady himself before he started walking again-at a slower pace this time-while Tyler struggled to put one foot in front of the other. "Hehehe..." the drunk man laughed, his voice strangely deeper and more guttural than usual. "I need a drink..."

"What?" Seto asked in bewilderment.

"I said I need a drink, boy..." Tyler said in that strange voice.

"...Not happening, Tyler. You've had enough drinks today."

"I'm not Tyler, stupid, I'm Janet..." Tyler slurred. "Auntie Janet needs a drink..."

_Ah right, that's his Aunt Janet voice_.

Slightly bemused with Tyler's drunken antics, Seto smiled softly as he stopped to adjust his grip on Tyler's arm around his shoulder. "No, Auntie Janet."

Tyler hiccupped. "Wattabout a cigarette?"

"Nope, not giving you that either."

"You fucking cunt..." Tyler muttered drowsily. "You're lucky you've got a cute ass... Otherwise ah'd kill ya..."

The moment they finally managed to leave the cafeteria, MonoWither promptly lowered the shutter gate. It was then that Seto remembered that he was supposed to grab a snack... Oh well. He wasn't hungry anymore. They struggled to cross the main hall and enter the hallway with their rooms. "Ah don't wanna walk no more..." Tyler complained, still using that strange husky voice. "My legs are chafing 'n my thighs are sweaty... Why don'tcha just carry me, ya bast'ahd."

Seto rolled his eyes a little bit, but he was glad that at least Tyler wasn't upset anymore.

They finally reached Tyler's room. "Okay, where's your key?" Seto asked.

Tyler swayed unsteadily. "I... _-HIC-_ I... I think... I left it..." he said in his normal voice.

Seto's face blanched. "Where'd you leave it?"

Tyler raised his wobbling arm and pointed back at the cafeteria before dropping it.

Seto closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. "And you didn't say that earlier because?"

"I dunno..." Tyler said slowly.

The sorcerer paused for a moment to think. "MonoWither?" Seto asked.

Right on cue, MonoWither appeared behind them. "Hello hello! It's your wonderful hosts here to bring a smile of despair to your face!"

Tyler suddenly gripped Seto like a lifeline, terrified. "S-Seto...! Why'd you bring them here...?!" he shrieked, tears springing to his eyes. He buried his head into Seto's shoulder, bursting into wails once more. "I said I'm sorry...!"

"It's okay, Tyler!" Seto said, alarmed. "I'm not going to let them hurt you, I promise!"

Tyler's sobs subsided somewhat, but he still refused to look up at MonoWither.

Seto turned back to the robot. "MonoWither, can you get us Tyler's key?"

"What? Are you seriously going to treat us like your slaves?" MonoWither asked, offended. "We are your _hosts_ , not your _servants_! Geez Seto, get it yourself!"

"You know I can't do that, it's in the cafeteria!" Seto hissed as he resisted the ever-so-appealing urge to magically blast the robot into bits.

"Well that's just too bad, isn't it?" MonoWither sneered. "We're not getting it for you, so deal with it! Seriously, the nerve you have, ordering us to fetch it like we're your loyal dogs or something... PSSH! Think again! We've got better things to do!" The machine huffed before promptly disappearing.

Tyler suddenly teetered forward and Seto had to catch him. "Sorry... 'M really tired..." Tyler mumbled sluggishly.

Seto sighed. "Guess I've got no choice," he said quietly as he steered Tyler towards his room. Seto fumbled for the key with one hand before finally managing to open the door. He flicked on the lights and helped Tyler stagger to the bed. Tyler flopped down onto the mattress face-first, murmuring something incoherently. "Hey, move over!" Seto complained. "I did not get you all the way here just so you could hog the bed!"

"But I'm tireeed..." Tyler whined.

Seto sighed before adjusting Tyler so that he was laying on one side of the bed. He grabbed Tyler's glasses and removed them from his face, but when he did that Tyler let out a horrified shriek and immediately latched onto Seto's shoulders as he tried to grab them back. "I need that!" he cried out, reaching his arms out futilely.

Seto, struggling to maintain his balance, had to hold the glasses high in the air using his magic. "Tyler- urgh- stop it!"

"Thief! Thief! You're a thief and- and- and you're Henri Rennet!"

Seto quickly set the glasses down on the nightstand. "There, are you happy?" Seto asked, exasperated. "I'm not stealing your glasses, and I'm not Henri Rennet. I was just taking your glasses off so you could sleep."

Tyler grumbled before lying back down again. "'M watching you... thief..."

Seto turned off the lights before plopping down on the other side, sighing loudly as he stared up into the darkness.

There was silence before Tyler suddenly spoke up. "...Seto?"

"...What?"

"I... -HIC- I'm sorry..."

"Sorry for what?"

There was a long pause as Tyler's eyes drifted shut. For a moment, Seto thought Tyler had fallen asleep, but then...

"I'm sorry for getting Jade and Sky killed," Tyler said, his voice sinking down to a whisper.

Seto's eyes widened as his heart gave a jolt. "What are you talking about?"

Tyler sniffled as he began to sob again. "I saw Sky... walking back to his room... He -HIC- walked past me... He seemed really nervous... It looked like... he had something in his pocket... 'n he was trying to hide it... I heard something jingle... as he passed me..."

"...You mean the bag of coins?" Seto asked in a hushed voice.

"Y-Yeah..." Tyler stuttered, drawing in a shaky breath. "I... -HIC- I didn't know it was the prize... But I should've asked... I didn't say anything... Pretended I didn't see... Pretended I didn't hear..." Tyler opened his bloodshot eyes and stared at Seto, anguish twisting his flushed face. "'M sorry Seto... 'S my fault I didn't stop him... I could've found out what he was doing... I could've told him... not to do it..."

Seto stared back at him, completely at a loss for words.

Tyler shut his eyes tightly, ashamed. "'M so sorry... 'S my fault Jade and Sky died... I kept smiling... even when everything was going wrong... I couldn't stop smiling... Couldn't stop pretending..." He sniffled. "'M sorry..."

Seto bit his lip. "...It's not your fault. You didn't know what Sky was planning."

"But- -HIC- But I should've-"

"Stop that, Tyler.

"I could've stopped him, could've saved them-"

"It's not your fault, okay?"

"...you sure?"

"Of course."

Tyler relaxed a little, but he still looked doubtful. "G'night... Seto..." he said almost inarticulately.

"Good night Tyler," Seto replied, yawning as he turned away from Tyler and sank his head into the pillow.

He had almost fallen asleep when all of a sudden he felt an arm circle around his waist. Startled, Seto jerked awake and let out a high-pitched yelp when he felt Tyler press his face against the back of his neck. "Mmm..." Tyler moaned. Seto tried to shake Tyler's arm off of him, but Tyler only held him tighter. "Nnnhhh... Stop moving so much Seto..." Tyler complained as he nuzzled into Seto's nape and made loud slurping sounds. "My... soft teddy bear... so warm..."

Instinctively, Seto elbowed Tyler in the gut, who cried out in pain and let go of him. Seto rolled over to look at Tyler. "What the hell?!" Seto asked with indignation.

"'S not my fault..." Tyler whined. "You smell like... like... bananas... Really good bananas..."

_...Bananas?_

"Okay, well, just stay on your side of the bed, all right?" Seto asked.

"Bananananananana..." Tyler babbled over and over again until he went silent and his eyes drooped shut.

Seto stared at him, baffled, before turning over once more. He was too exhausted with everything that had happened that day to say anything else. He could talk about what Tyler had confessed to him in the morning, when the poor man was sober and had slept off all the alcohol...

Seto listened to Tyler's soft, peaceful snores for a minute before drifting off to sleep. The two of them slept undisturbed for the night.

* * *

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	17. Throw Away the Key

_The poor man was keeled over the floor, retching nonstop. 9-year-old Seto watched with utter horror as the man collapsed on the ground, convulsing violently, his screams of agony echoing throughout the room. Seto wanted desperately to look away, to shield his eyes from the awful sight, but someone was holding the boy's head in place._

_"Look what you've done," M_ _aster_ _Hennessy_ _said, his iron grip leaving marks on the side of his head. "Look at the consequences of your failure to obey."_

_Seto sobbed in anguish, for some reason unable to close his eyes as he watched the innocent victim finally fall deathly still..._

_"Take a good look," Master_ _Hennessy_ _ordered, his voice hanging in the air like toxic smoke. "This is all your fault. Why are you such an inconvenience? Why can't you be more like_ him _?"_

_The man let go of his head and Seto collapsed to his knees, gasping in absolute horror. "I ordered you to make a sleeping potion," the man continued in a low voice, glaring at Seto with piercing green eyes. "You stupidly made an error in the process. You disobeyed my order."_

_"I- I'm_ _sorry-_ _!" the boy wailed. "I didn't mean to kill him, I-"_

_A blinding pain exploded from the side of his head as the man smacked him forcefully. "You idiot!" the man yelled. "You're lucky I decided to test the potion out on this worthless prisoner first. Maybe I should have made you test it out yourself! If only you and_ him _weren't connected, then everything would be so much easier for us!"_

_"I-I'm sorry!" the boy shrieked between his sobs that were increasing in volume. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"_

_"This is all your fault!"_

_"I'm sorry!" He didn't know whether he was apologizing to Master_ _Hennessy_ _or the man he'd killed..._

**Seto!**

_"Forgive me!"_

**Seto wake up!**

_"FORGIVE ME! FORGIVE ME! FORGIVE ME!"_

**SETO!**

* * *

Seto screamed as he woke up to feel someone shaking his shoulder. His instincts kicked in, a sudden burst of adrenaline coursing through his veins as he immediately lunged at his assailant and pushed them to the floor, pressing his right arm against the person's neck to choke them. It was only a few seconds later when he registered the words that the assailant was attempting to speak.

"S-SETO-! LET GO-! CAN'T- BREATH-! GH-!" Tyler gargled, writhing desperately underneath him.

Seto's eyes widened in horror as he realized who his "assailant" was and promptly climbed off of him. "T-Tyler?!" he asked. Unable to reply, Tyler rubbed his neck and wheezed, his entire body shaking to the core. Seto helped Tyler sit up, murmuring frantic apologies. "Oh- Oh god I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that, I-"

"It's... fine..." Tyler said, coughing.

Seto's face was twisted with remorse. "I'm so, so sorry, forgive me please, I didn't mean to hurt you, please forgive-"

"I said it's fine." Tyler grimaced and lowered his hand to show the still-present mark on his neck.

Seto looked away, filled with shame. "I'm sorry..." he whispered quietly. "I really didn't mean it..."

"It's all right Seto, you were having a really bad nightmare after all," Tyler said sympathetically.

Seto blinked. "How did you know?"

"Well I woke up to vomit in the bathroom, and then you started screaming like you were dying or something. You were saying 'I'm sorry' and 'forgive me' over and over again."

_He was vomiting? Well... that explains why I dreamed that..._

Seto's face paled. "...oh."

"What did you dream about anyway?"

"N-Nothing... I forgot..."

Tyler stared at him skeptically. Then he laughed a little, probably in an attempt to lighten the mood, although his breath still sounded raspy. "G-Geez Seto... you acted like I was trying to kill you or something... When did you get instincts like that?"

"...I don't know..." Seto lied weakly.

Tyler pressed his forehead, wincing. "Well anyway... I've got a killer headache now..."

Seto's face paled even further. "I'm really sorry-"

"It's not because of you, relax!" Tyler said reassuringly. "What I meant was that I've got a killer hangover now..."

"Oh," Seto repeated.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Tyler's face fell slightly as he thought about something. "...Uh, about last night..."

Seto watched as Tyler fidgeted with his fingers uncomfortably. "Yes?"

Tyler stared down at the floor. "Did I... say anything weird?"

Seto debated internally for a few moments before sighing. "You told me you saw Sky after he got the bag of coins."

Tyler flinched. "What- What are you talking about?" he asked, the corners of his lips rising as he tried to fake a smile once more. "Haha, alcohol makes you say the weirdest things-"

"Tyler, you have to stop pretending everything's fine when it's clearly not."

"Everything's perfectly fine-"

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that again, Tyler," Seto said, his brown eyes piercing its way through Tyler's black ones. "Tell me you were lying about what you said last night. Tell me."

Tyler frowned and he instinctively crossed his arms, hiking up his legs so that his knees were pressed against his chest. "...Sorry, I just..." He took a deep breath. "Yesterday I was in my room, doing my own thing, and all of a sudden MonoWither just appeared, and they kept saying... _certain things_ to me. The first time they did it, I cried for a long, long time, but then I told myself that they were just doing it to get under my skin... But they kept coming back... They'd leave for awhile, and then come back right when I was getting over what they said... I left the room in the hopes of getting them to leave me alone, but then I saw the beer in the fridge, and... I couldn't help myself..." Tyler's face grew ashamed. "...Cowardly, I know... Avoiding the truth of what they said..."

"What did they say to you?" Seto asked in a hollow voice.

"...Y-You know, 'it's all your fault', 'you should have confronted Sky', 'you caused their deaths'..." Tyler swallowed. "...'you don't deserve to live'..."

Seto felt his hands ball into fists. That stupid, sadistic robot...

"Anyway, why did you let me share your room?" Tyler asked.

"...Well I couldn't just leave you out there," Seto replied.

"I know, but, after what I confessed..."

"It's not your fault, you know?" Seto asked.

Tyler scoffed bitterly. "Yeah right."

"I'm serious. It's not your fault. You had no idea what Sky was planning, none of us did."

"But I saw him!" Tyler declared, his face filled with guilt. "I saw him hiding something in his pocket! I should have at least asked! But instead, I just ignored it and pretended like it wasn't something important! I could have stopped him, I could have convinced him not to do it, I... I should have done _something_ instead of just doing _nothing_!" Tyler stopped as he gasped for breath, his black eyes wild with panic as he realized everything he had just admitted. He wiped his eyes and breathed shakily. "I... I'm sorry Seto... I don't know why I said all that... I just... I kept defending him during the trial... because I didn't want to believe I'd let him do it... I didn't want to believe I could have stopped him..."

Seto paused to choose his words carefully. "'Could have's, 'should have's, they don't really matter. It won't change a thing. Maybe you could have stopped him, but it's in the past now. As much..." Seto swallowed down the painful lump in his throat. "...As much as we'd like to turn back time, we can't..."

Tyler looked away. "Doesn't mean I'm not to blame."

"No one expected Sky would do something like that. I... I could have stopped him too..." Seto admitted.

Tyler turned back to face him, confused. "What?"

Seto stared at his lap. "Two nights before... Jade died... I asked him what he saw in his video. He said that he didn't want to talk about it. I didn't press further..."

"But Seto, no one really wanted to talk about the videos, that's not unusual-"

"-the next night, I saw him in the kitchen. He was searching for something. I asked him what he was looking for, and he looked at me... like a deer in the headlights. He told me that he was looking for a knife..."

Tyler's eyes widened. "He told you that?"

Seto laughed bitterly. "He passed it off, told me he was trying to protect himself. I believed him. I didn't question the fact that once I'd caught him, he almost immediately said he had to 'go to the bathroom' and left..." He closed his eyes morosely. "I wanted to tell him that he could talk to anyone. I knew he was upset about the video, but he wouldn't talk about it even though it was killing him inside. I knew he was thinking about _something_. But I didn't do anything..." He swallowed down the painful lump in his throat. "I- I caught him during the trial, you know... I didn't want to, and I know I had to do it or else we'd all get killed, but... Sometimes I just... I just can't stop feeling like _I_ killed him... like it's all my fault... that I shouldn't have kept accusing him..."

"Seto..." Tyler whispered, at a loss for words.

Seto grit his teeth. "But it doesn't matter now. No matter how much I regret it, I can't keep blaming myself. I have to keep looking forward. If I don't, then I'll never get out of here alive."

Something lit up in Tyler's eyes. "...get out alive, huh..."

"We've got to find a way out somehow. We've got to survive without killing someone. That's what Sky and Jade told us to do, right? That's what Seth died for, right?"

Tyler uncrossed his arms. "You're right..." he murmured. Then he paused. "You... You don't judge me for crying, right?"

Seto looked confused. "What? Why would I?"

"...Nothing..."

"Tyler, why do you always try to hide how you feel? You always try to smile, even when you're sad inside. Why?"

Tyler looked extremely hesitant, but then gave in. "...When... When I was little... the other kids used to make fun of me because I cried a lot... They'd say 'boys aren't supposed to cry'... And adults would say that men were supposed to be strong..."

Seto kept silent, waiting for Tyler to continue.

"Then I found that I loved to act, and I realized how I could fix my 'problem'. If an actor needs to express an emotion, they need to pretend to feel that way. If they need to be sad, they need to make themselves feel sad." Tyler crossed his arms over his chest. _"If they need to be happy, they need to make themselves feel happy."_

Tyler released a long sigh. "So that's what I did. When I was sad, I'd smile and everything seemed to be better. But then over the years, it kind of became a habit, and stopped working as well. And now I still try to smile even when my friends are dying. I- I know no one would judge me for crying over something like this, but some part of my brain just doesn't want that... Some part of my brain keeps telling me I shouldn't cry, even though all this shit is happening... Isn't that just fucking messed up?" He laughed bitterly. "I mean... what the hell is wrong with me...?"

"...Nothing's wrong with you," Seto replied.

Tyler snorted. "Yeah, right. There's nothing wrong with someone who feels bad for crying for the deaths of his friends. Sure."

Seto took a moment to consider his words carefully. "No, what I mean is that... you just need practice."

"Practice?" Tyler echoed, confused.

"You just need to practice displaying your true emotions instead of hiding them. It's not good to just keep them bottled up inside... No one here would laugh at you. I wouldn't laugh at you. Only MonoWither would, and MonoWither is an asshole."

Tyler pursed his lips together. "Yeah I know that, but it's easier said than done, just... letting everything out."

"That's why I said you need to practice, right? It's better than getting drunk and, uh, passing out."

"You've got a point there," Tyler admitted, rubbing the sides of his temples. "God, this hangover is horrible... I haven't gotten this drunk in so long..."

**DING DONG, DING DONG**

**Good morning, bastards! It's 7 in the morning! Time to wake up!**

**Let's all strive to have fun and entertain the audience today!**

"We should probably get going," Seto said, standing up. "We should get that key you left in the cafeteria..."

"Hey... Seto?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah?"

"...Thanks."

"For what?"

"It's not just for dealing with me when I was drunk... but for listening to me. I can't thank you enough."

"...it was nothing."

"You're a really good friend, you know that? I... I wish I could have told that to Sky before... before he..." Tyler trailed off, unable to continue.

"Yeah," Seto said quietly, staring blankly into space.

_"I wish I could have done that too."_

* * *

The moment Tyler and Seto left the latter's room, they saw Mitch, Jerome, and Ryan leaving Mitch's room. The trio halted immediately and stared at Tyler and Seto in confusion.

"Uh..." Ryan said, trailing off. "Did you two... uh..."

Mitch and Jerome slowly turned to face each other before looking back at the pair. Jerome suddenly burst into an uncontrollable giggling fit. "I- I can't- oh my god I can't!" he cackled, slapping his knees as he continued to laugh.

Mitch grinned cheekily. "Ooh... I see what's going on here... Looks like some people had _fun_ last night..." he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Tyler and Seto's eyes widened in realization. Seto's cheeks instantly flushed a dark shade of red as he subconsciously lowered his hood over his face in mortification. Tyler started to stammer frantically. "It- It's not what it looks like-"

"Wait, don't tell me you two actually... Oh my _FUCKING_ _GOD_!" Ryan yelled indignantly, placing his hands on his hips like a scolding mother. "I can't believe you Tyler! Seriously!"

Like Seto, Tyler was also blushing with embarrassment. "Ryan! It's not- We didn't-"

"I am so ashamed of you! Fooling around like a horny high-schooler-"

"Ryan-"

"I SMELL ALCOHOL IN YOUR BREATH, DON'T TELL ME YOU GOT PISSED DRUNK AND STARTED MESSING AROUND WITH INNOCENT SETO-"

Tyler was becoming more and more flustered by the second. "I didn't do anything like that! Well, I mean, I did get drunk but-"

_"DID YOU EVEN USE PROTECTION?!"_

"N-No, because-"

_"OH MY GOD TYLER, I THOUGHT YOU WERE MORE RESPONSIBLE THAN THAT!"_

"We didn't do any- Wait, why are you only yelling at me?!" Tyler asked in bewilderment.

Ryan jabbed a finger in Seto's direction. _"BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW SETO HERE IS THE INEXPERIENCED ONE, AND THIS WAS PROBABLY HIS FIRST TIME YOU_ _DIPSHIT_ _! DID YOU EVEN TAKE HIM OUT ON A DATE BEFOREHAND?!"_

Seto had practically dissolved into his gray cloak at this point.

Tyler felt like he was fighting a losing battle. "It's not like that, we're not together-"

"So you're just friends with benefits?" Jerome asked teasingly.

"NO JEROME, NOT YOU TOO! Seriously, we didn't do anything like that!" Tyler shrieked hysterically.

"Sure Tyler, keep on saying that..." Mitch said between peals of laughter. "If only I had a camera! This is just too much!"

A terrible yet brilliant idea entered Tyler's mind as he smiled mischievously. "Yeah? Well, I could ask the same about you guys!"

"What?!" Ryan asked, his face turning red.

"Why do you three keep sharing the same room?!" Tyler asked devilishly. "Don't you guys have your own?"

Jerome scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, Tyler, we just feel safer that way-"

"Sure, that doesn't sound suspicious at all..." Tyler smirked. "What exactly were you guys doing last night, huh? Were you guys making a sandwich with lots of mayo-"

"Gross, Tyler! That image was so unnecessary!" Mitch said, his face crinkling with disgust. "Fine, we'll stop teasing you two, all right?"

"Wait, we were teasing them?!" Ryan asked, stunned. "I was being perfectly serious!"

"Mai gawd Ryan, your motherly instincts are too strongk." Jerome joked. "We all know Seto wouldn't do something like that. Anyway, so why _were_ you two in the same room last night?"

"I... uh... I kind of got drunk last night... And Seto let me share his room because I accidentally left my key in the cafeteria..." Tyler admitted.

Seto had somewhat calmed down by now. At the very least, he didn't look quite as much like a ripe tomato anymore. "Y-Yeah, that's all that happened... Seriously..."

"Woah, there's alcohol here?" Jerome asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Jerome, no!" Mitch and Ryan yelled at the same time, horrified.

"Aw, fine..." Jerome said, his eyes drooping in disappointment.

"The hangover isn't worth it," Tyler muttered, rubbing his temples. "I totally regret it... The alcohol concentration in that thing is absurd, I don't want to talk about it..."

"Is there a reason why you decided to get drunk in the first place?" Mitch asked, concerned.

Tyler pressed his lips together. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Yeah well, is there a reason why you guys are just standing here chatting while blocking up the hallway?" Annie suddenly asked, crossing her arms over her chest with annoyance as she stood beside them. "Unlike _some_ people, I for one am starving!"

Everyone flinched at her sudden appearance. "Sorry!" Ryan said sheepishly. "We'll move!"

"...Wait Seto, did you sleep with Tyler last night?"

Tyler looked like he was about to have a stroke. "For the love of _GOD THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!_ "

* * *

It was around 10 in the morning. Everyone had woken up by now, including Bonks. As they chatted happily amongst themselves, it seemed like their troubles were only a distant memory. Even Seto himself was pleased with the way this morning was going. Perhaps... Perhaps this communal lifestyle was possible...

It was right at that moment when they were all brought back to reality with a sudden jolt.

"So... how are the lovebirds doing?" MonoWither asked mischievously, appearing right behind Seto and Tyler, who both flinched.

"Wh-What?" Tyler asked, his face turning red once again.

_Oh god not again please._

"We saw you two! You were sleeping together last night! How _scandalous_!" MonoWither remarked, grinning cheekily.

"Woah, you two did _what last night?!_ " Bonks asked, shocked.

Seto tried to retain his composure, but failed tremendously. "No, it's not like that, we didn't-"

"Well that's something I was totally not expecting to happen," Ashley muttered.

"Uh, how long has this been going on?" Bodil asked, slightly concerned.

Seto began to stammer. "No, you don't understand, it's not what you think-"

"Are you two dating or was it just in the heat of the moment?" Husky asked, smirking.

"I think it's the latter!" Jason declared, cackling. "Just look at them! Haha!"

"No, we didn't do stuff like that!" Tyler shrieked hysterically, embarrassed beyond belief.

"I don't know, looks suspicious to me..." Jordan said as he gave a teasing smile. "After all, yesterday Seto here was quite eager to go back to his room instead of eating dinner with the rest of us..."

_Mitch, Jerome, Ryan, I swear to god you three had better say something!_

But Mitch and Jerome were giggling uncontrollably like it was the funniest thing in the world and Ryan was giving them a look that pretty much said, _You two got yourselves into this mess, so get yourselves out of it, punks._

_...Annie?_

The SDML Archer was merely sipping her cup of coffee without a care in the world.

Seto cursed them all mentally, using rather colorful language in the process.

Steven smiled kindly at Tyler and Seto. "Well I'm really happy for you two! I'm glad you finally realized your feelings for each other!" he declared happily, not realizing the rather inappropriate implications of what MonoWither had just said. Bart gave him a disbelieving stare and Dave face-palmed.

"...we're not dating, Steven," Seto muttered.

Steven looked shocked. "Wait, you're not? Then why did MonoWither say you shared the same bed last night? Hold on, I don't get it! Bart? Dave? Do you get what's going on?"

Neither one wanted to answer Steven's questions, for fear of damaging his innocence.

MonoWither whooped, spinning around in dizzy circles. "Mmm, two guys sleeping together during a night of passion? Sizzling hot stuff right there, we're fanning ourselves at the thought! Wow, the fangirls are gonna go crazy over this! What should we call this ship? Setyler? Tyleto? No, we've got a better one, _MunchingSorcerer_! Hahaha! Get it? Munching-"

"Everyone shut up!" Tyler cried out. "Look, I got super drunk last night, I left my key here, and Seto let me sleep in his room! That's all that happened!"

"Ugh, fine!" MonoWither said, frustrated. "Fine, that's all that happened! Seto didn't kill you! Happy now? Huh? Huh?"

There was a stunned silence.

"...What's with the sudden change of mood?" Seto asked suspiciously, echoing everyone's thoughts.

MonoWither shook with anger, and Seto briefly wondered if they were about to explode. "We're just... _so_ sick and tired of this! Everyone, go to the conference room! We've got something to say to all of you! Hurry up or you'll regret it!" The machine disappeared, leaving everyone confused and afraid.

"What- What's going on?" Bonks asked, terrified.

"What more do they want from us?" Jason whispered.

"...It can't be another motive..." Husky said faintly.

"Not again! Please not again!" Bodil shrieked, clutching his head in his hands. "No more videos! No more dead loved ones! Please no more!"

"It's going to be all right, Bodil," Ashley said, although the expression on her face indicated that she felt otherwise.

"There's no one left..." Steven whispered. "There's nothing more MonoWither can do to me... What else does that machine have planned for us?"

"Everyone needs to calm down," Jordan said, lowering his palms.

"Y-Yeah!" Tyler declared. "Let's not freak out, all right?"

Seto nodded. "You're right. We should do what MonoWither says, or they'll get even more mad at us. We have to remain calm and collected."

"They wanted us to go to the conference room, right?" Mitch asked.

"Let's go right now, it's not like we can avoid this," Jerome stated, clenching his fists.

"Dammit..." Ryan muttered.

One by one, they all left the cafeteria and headed to the conference room, apprehension palpable in the air.

* * *

"It took you idiots long enough to get here!" MonoWither scolded when the group arrived.

"Well at least we're here, asshole," Annie said quietly. "Mind explaining your little bitch fit just earlier?"

"Ugh, we're so pissed off! Especially at you, Seto! You had the perfect opportunity to kill Tyler at his most vulnerable state! He was drunk and you didn't even take advantage of that fact! Do you realize how infuriating that was?! No one would have been able to prove it was you either!"

"If you think I'd kill my friends, then think again," Seto hissed.

"Do we really have to keep pressuring you guys to murder someone?" MonoWither complained. "We're tired of doing this!"

"Maybe you should stop then," Ashley muttered under her breath.

"No! That's a ridiculous idea! You all are like useless fat hens just sitting around doing nothing! Who wants to watch a show like this? No one, that's who! But don't worry, we have a great idea that will certainly get you guys going! Yes, this is going to be your next motive!"

Seto had a very, very bad feeling about this. Everyone else glanced around nervously, wondering what the motive this time around would be.

"You see, we decided to dig deep into your pasts to find out your worst, darkest, most embarrassing secrets!"

Seto's face paled considerably. _No... There's no way they'd know..._

"Our... secrets?" Jordan asked, confused.

"Yep! And what we found, oh boy! They were so interesting! If these were somehow released to the public... oh the uproar! The pure scandal!"

MonoWither flew over to a lever on the wall. "Dun dun dun!" the robot hummed dramatically as they pulled the lever. The ceiling opened and a bunch of envelopes came raining down, fluttering in the air like butterflies as they landed on the floor. "Okay, find the one with your name on it and don't go peeking at the ones that don't belong to you!"

Immediately, everyone rushed to find their envelope. Seto quickly found his and gripped it with shaking hands. He was too scared to open it. If MonoWither had somehow found out...

"AHHH! I THOUGHT NO ONE KNEW ABOUT THIS!" Bonks shrieked, horrified. She was holding a slip of paper and staring at it with bewilderment.

"How did you find this out?!" Steven exclaimed, his face filled with dread.

"Oh god..." Ashley murmured, trembling slightly.

Bodil looked extremely ill all of a sudden. "Wh-Where's the bathroom?"

"You have 24 hours! If you don't want your secret to be revealed to the public, then all you have to do is murder someone and not get caught!" MonoWither declared.

Mitch grit his teeth, staring down at the slip of paper in his hands as though it was a bomb about to explode. "Stupid machine..."

"N-No... Please no..." Husky whispered, his legs quaking on the spot.

"What kind of cruel person are you?" Jordan asked in horror.

"Ahahaha! Who will be the first to succumb to this despair? We can't wait to find out!"

"Okay, I think we should just get this over with and tell everyone what was written on the slip of paper, right now," Jason said, his voice shaking slightly. "Mine's kind of bad, but I wouldn't kill someone over it. I'm pretty sure none of you have something worse..."

Silence.

Jason sighed. "Guess I'll go first then. A few years ago, I didn't have any money to spare, so I... I stole a really expensive pair of headphones at a music store because I really wanted it..."

"Well that's not _that_ bad, I mean, the store probably wouldn't care at this point..." Steven said quietly.

"It cost around 300 emeralds."

"Holy crap, _300_?!" Husky exclaimed.

Jason smiled wryly. "Yep. Store never found out who did it either, somehow. I always felt kind of bad, though, it probably cost them a lot of money. I still feel really guilty, tricking those shop owners like that... Anyway, that's my worst secret. Anyone else?"

Jerome scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, this is kind of embarrassing, but I... I wet the bed until I was in fifth grade..." he admitted, his cheeks flushing pink underneath his fur.

More silence.

Annie cleared her throat awkwardly. "All I can say is... Wow."

"... _That's_ your worst secret? Seriously?" Ryan asked. "Out of all the things in the world?! You pissed your pants when you were asleep as a kid?!"

"Yeah, see?" Jerome said, showing him his paper. Ryan raised his eyebrows as a slight smile formed on his lips. "I swear, you'd better not use this for blackmail material..." the bacca muttered.

"Oh I won't..." Ryan said, chuckling darkly. "Definitely..."

"Ryan!" Jerome said indignantly. "Not fair! Tell us your secret and we'll be even!" Jerome reached over to grab Ryan's paper.

Ryan's face suddenly grew panicked as he clutched the paper slip to his chest. "N-No! You can't!"

Jerome gave him a concerned look. "Why not?"

"I... Maybe later, but... not now..." Ryan mumbled, his voice strangely quiet.

Silence filled the room once more.

"I shit my pants in a department store when I was little," Tyler said, laughing a bit as he showed everyone his paper. "No one noticed, but I still never went back to that store ever again..."

The mood lightened once more as most people laughed with him. Seto decided that he might as well get it over with. The likelihood that MonoWither had found his real worst secret was close to none, right? He opened the envelope and pulled out the slip of paper. He looked at what was written on it...

...and felt the world grind to a sudden halt.

_"Half of_ _Seto's_ _soul is a magical experiment created to kill and torture people on command."_

His mind went blank as he read the contents over and over again, hoping that somehow he'd read the words all wrong...

"Seto?" Bonks asked with concern. "What happened?"

Seto began to shake uncontrollably from head to toe. He was hyperventilating to the point where he was about to pass out, and his vision started blurring at the edges. He struggled to retain control of himself, but it was impossible...

_No... They can't find out who I really am..._

Tyler's smile faded. "What's wrong, Seto?"

Seto clutched the paper in his fist as he stared at all his friends, the friends he didn't want to lose, the friends who meant so much to him, with wide eyes. Somewhere on the other side of the room, MonoWither started giggling madly. "I- I-" Seto stuttered wildly, backing up against the wall like a cornered animal. There was no way he could let them know what was written on his paper. He couldn't let anyone know no matter what...

"Seto, calm down..." Tyler said, reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, but Seto swatted it aside.

"Get away from me!" he yelled, his voice unusually aggressive.

Tyler flinched and drew his arm back. "Seto, look at me, calm down, it's all right-"

"I said _GET AWAY FROM ME!_ " Seto shrieked, purple magic pulsating from his hands as he instinctively launched a blast of energy at Tyler's gut.

Everyone shrieked as Tyler was sent flying backwards, his back slamming forcefully against the conference table. The SDML Drama Actor cried out as all the wind was knocked out from him. He collapsed to the floor on his knees, trembling from the pain as he clutched his abdomen. "S-Seto?" Tyler asked, staring up at the sorcerer with terrified eyes.

Seto stared back at him, equally horrified at what he'd done. "I... I'm sorry... Forgive me... I didn't mean to..." _You hurt Tyler. You hurt your friend. You're a monster, you're a monster, you're a_ _monster-_

He shut his eyes tightly, tears streaming down his face. "Just- Just leave me alone!"

Tyler tried to stand up. "Seto, wait-!"

Without a second thought, Seto pushed open the door and fled from the conference room.

* * *

_"It's not that hard, Seto. All you have to do is stab her," Master_ _Hennessy_ _said, jabbing a finger at a woman who was gagged and tied to a chair._

_The 8-year-old boy, who was wearing a black cloak with a purple Ender Dragon face on it, trembled as he stared at the woman. Her eyes filled with fear, the woman began to struggle desperately, terrified whimpers muffled by the gag. "Why?" the boy asked, scared._

_"Are you questioning my order?"_ _the_ _brown_ _-haired_ _man asked in a deadly voice._

_"_ _N-No_ _..."_

_"Her husband isn't paying us anymore, so we're teaching him a lesson. Now stop hesitating and just stab her!" The boy lifted up the knife, whimpering. "STOP CRYING!" the man yelled, his green eyes filled with anger. "KILL HER! THAT'S AN ORDER!"_

_"I- I can't-" Seto stuttered through his tears._

_Suddenly the boy felt pain explode from the side of his head and he crashed to the ground, dropping the knife in the process. The man had cuffed him forcefully. Master_ _Hennessy_ _walked over to him, pulled out an electrical prod, and proceeded to shock him. Seto's scream was cut off when he blacked out temporarily._

_A few seconds later, the boy stood up, removing the black hood from his head. He opened his eyes, which were now crimson red. "Master?" he asked._

_"Stab this woman," Master_ _Hennessy_ _ordered._

_Without a second thought, the boy picked up the knife and promptly plunged it into the woman's chest. The woman cried out through the gag and made a loud gurgling sound before she went deadly silent and fell utterly still._

_"I did it! I did it!" The boy exclaimed in jubilation, grinning as he let go of the knife before turning to the man and bowing his head submissively. "Have I done well, Master? Have I pleased you?"_

_"You did excellent work,_ _Slotty_ _."_

_Slotty's_ _red eyes beamed in pleasure. "_ _T-Thank_ _you, Master!" he exclaimed cheerfully. "I... I'm so happy I could... serve you well..." The boy was starting to look exhausted._

_A look of annoyance crossed the man's face._ _"We will have to work on increasing your control of the body."_

_"My... apologies..."_ _Slotty_ _slurred, frowning as he blinked sluggishly._

_Master_ _Hennessy_ _pursed his lips in a thin line of disapproval. "You are dismissed for now."_

_"Thank... you..."_ _Slotty_ _mumbled almost incoherently before closing his eyes and collapsing on the floor in a heap._

_Seto's_ _brown eyes shot open and he sat up with a jolt, struggling to suppress his shudders of horror and disgust. "You disobeyed my order..." Master_ _Hennessy_ _muttered angrily._

_Before Seto could react, Master_ _Hennessy_ _walked forward and relentlessly kicked him in the ribs, each kick making pain explode all over his frail body. The boy let out strangled cries of anguish as he threw his arms over his chest to block some of the blows. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he shrieked desperately, fighting the instinctive urge to make a force field to protect himself. The last time he'd done that, he'd only succeeded in angering Master_ _Hennessy_ _further._

_The man finally stopped and bent down to grab Seto by the hair._ _Seto's_ _breaths were now sharp, winded gasps that made his bruised ribs throb. "Why are you so weak?" Master_ _Hennessy_ _asked coldly, pulling Seto up and peering straight into his face. The terrified boy shut his eyes tightly, too afraid to look at the man._ _"Why can't you act like your other half and just do as you're told? It would make everything so much easier! Then we wouldn't have to go through all that trouble of having to summon him again and again!"_

_Seto choked out a sob, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry..." he repeated weakly. "I'm really, really sorry..."_

_"'Sorry' doesn't mean anything! Goddamn it, if only the experiment went perfectly, then we wouldn't have to deal with you! Your_ entire _soul was supposed to be altered, not just a fraction of it!" Still grasping_ _Seto's_ _hair, Master_ _Hennessy_ _slammed the_ _boy's_ _head down on the ground, the impact echoing throughout the room._ _Seto's_ _vision filled with white as he screamed in pure agony. "You're worthless!" he yelled as he lifted the boy's head up only to smash it down again._

Smack!

_"You shouldn't even exist!"_

Smack!

_"Your whole existence is just a failure!"_

Smack!

_"You_ _stupid-_ _!"_

Smack!

_"-waste of-!"_

Smack!

_"-space!"_

_Master_ _Hennessy_ _finally let go of Seto, who immediately curled into a quivering ball on the floor._

_"...Why can't you be more like_ him _?" the man asked as he towered over the boy._

_The 8-year-old sobbed raggedly, clutching his aching head with trembling fingers. Everything hurt so badly. His chest hurt, his head hurt, his whole body wracked with excruciating pain and suffering..._

_He knew that he deserved it, though. He deserved all of it. This was the price he had to pay for existing when he wasn't supposed to._

_This was the price he had to pay for being a murderer..._


	18. Take to the Grave

Seto was curled in a tight ball on his bed as he stared listlessly at the wall. At first people had stubbornly kept knocking on his door, but after several minutes of no response, they'd just given up.

He wasn't worth their time anyway.

He'd fallen into a restless slumber, and now about 2 hours had passed since MonoWither had given them the secrets. That meant that he had 22 hours until the secrets would be revealed...

_"Well someone's feeling blue!"_

Seto shut his eyes tightly, unwilling to look at the machine that had just teleported inside his room.

"Aw come on, at least acknowledge us a little bit?" MonoWither pleaded.

Seto sighed reluctantly and sat up, glaring at MonoWither. "The hell do you want?" He tried to sound merely annoyed, but his tone was too hollow and upset.

"Nothing, really! We just noticed that you were looking quite depressed and we wanted to see if there was something we could do to help!"

_As if._

"Perhaps... this could make you feel better?" MonoWither asked.

A hard object landed on Seto's lap. Seto looked down and his heart skipped a beat when he saw a familiar purple-and-gold amulet. He picked it up delicately and rubbed it with his fingers, feeling the cool gem against his palm.

And then, like a broken dam, Seto felt a river of emotions swell inside him, overwhelming him to the point where it took all his self-control in order to not break down into sobs in front of MonoWither. Seto held the amulet to his chest and took shuddering breaths as he closed his eyes.

"You like it? We fished it out of the pool for you!" MonoWither said.

Seto's grip on the amulet tightened. "How did you find out about my secret?" Seto demanded, ignoring what MonoWither said.

"Ohohoho... So you're wondering about that, eh?" MonoWither asked, grinning. "We'd love to answer your question, but actually we can't! We don't want to give away our secrets of the trade!"

"My secret is something that no one else knows about," Seto said. "That project was something that was top-secret, and the one who led the project is..."

"Dead because of you," MonoWither replied sweetly.

Seto flinched. "You- You know about that too?"

"Well of course we do! We did our full research on all of you guys! And we can safely say that out of the remaining 13 of you, you're the only one who's ever killed another person! More than one person, in fact! You have quite the death count, and that doesn't even include the amount of people you've tortured!"

Seto clenched his fists and turned away, tears prickling at the back of his eyes. "That- That wasn't me!" Seto insisted. "It was the other one! Not me..."

"But it was still your body that did it..." MonoWither noted. "Plus, you two still share memories, even if you don't share thoughts and emotions..."

Seto cringed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Go away. I don't want to talk to you."

"Aw, but we haven't given you our kindly words of advice yet!" MonoWither complained.

"I don't want it."

"Do you know what'll happen if no one dies?" MonoWither asked. "We'll do the honor of telling everyone your secret! And once everyone knows the true nature of your existence, once all of your friends know... What do you think will happen?"

"Sh- Shut up!" Seto cried out, clamping his hands over his ears. "Just go away!"

"You can't possibly let that happen, can you?" MonoWither continued, relishing in Seto's emotional turmoil.

"I'm not listening!"

"You know what you must do, don't you?"

"I'd never sacrifice my friends!" Seto yelled. "Even if they'll end up hating me, even if they'll end up shunning me forever, I'll never kill them!"

"Such loyalty is to be envied! But can you say the same thing about them?"

Seto slowly removed his hands from his ears. "Wh- What are you talking about?"

" _You_ might not be willing to sacrifice your friends, but would your friends do the same for you? No, of course they wouldn't!"

Seto's eyes widened. "That... That's not true..."

"Really? Then explain why Sky tried to sacrifice you all by killing Jade!"

Seto felt his body jolt, like a knife had been driven straight into his heart. "How dare you talk about him like that?!" he demanded angrily.

"We're asking a valid question about your quote-on-quote 'best friend', well, supposing that's _really_ just how you saw him! Too bad Sky didn't see you the same way... Ah, such is the tragedy of unrequited love..."

The sorcerer struggled to formulate a proper refutation, but he couldn't. "SH-SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Seto screamed.

"Well your 'best friend' even tried to frame you for the murder! You've put him on this pedestal, told yourself 'Oh poor Sky, he was only doing it for his family!', but did he _really_ care about you? If he did, would he have seen that 'S' Jade wrote and thought 'Let's frame Seto and have everyone think he killed her'? That's not something 'best friends' do, right?"

"Shut up..." Seto whimpered, clutching his head in his hands.

MonoWither flew a little closer until they were right by the bed. Their tone grew darker, more menacing. Deadly, even. "You always thought of him as your very first friend. You loved him even though you knew those feelings would never be returned. You stopped hurting yourself because you thought that you had at least one person who cared. And yet at the first opportunity, he was willing to take advantage of you and throw you away like trash on the side of the road..."

Seto was hyperventilating again and his eyes were screwed shut. As much as he tried, he couldn't block out MonoWither's words, which sank its way into his brain like a parasite, like a disease...

"It's almost like he saw you for what you really are, a person who doesn't deserve to exist... A person who has no good purpose living in this world..." MonoWither's slow voice was completely serious and held no signs of their typical gleefulness. "If Sky of all people saw you this way, how do you think the others truly see you?"

Seto tried to refrain from sobbing in front of MonoWither, but it was no use. "No... No..." he mumbled, shaking his head.

"Don't you see now? You were never wanted. Even your father didn't want you. That's why he ditched you in that orphanage, abandoned you for years in that place. After all, if you weren't born in the first place, then his wife wouldn't have died, right?

"And that couple who came to adopt you? It turned out that they were working for Master Hennessy all along. They only wanted you for their experiment, their secret project to alter the soul of a magical child and create an extremely powerful sorcerer who would do anything they wanted...

"...Oh wait, but even that partially failed, huh? They only managed to alter half of your soul, which separated from your half to develop a whole new personality inside your body. Only electrical shocks could trigger your other half to control your body, but after awhile your other half would get tired and your half would return. But they never wanted you, they only wanted the other half. They wished that your half didn't exist, since you were such an inconvenience..."

Seto buried his face in his hands, all dignity going out the window as anguished sobs wracked his entire body.

"None of your friends are really your friends. How could they care about someone like you? Hell, all those 'fans' are just there because you happen to be acquainted with a bunch of celebrities. You don't even do anything worthy of note. All they know about you is your first name and the fact that you're a sorcerer. Everyone's attracted to the mysterious one, the one who always hides in the shadows, right? But once they find out who you really are, everyone will realize what a monster you are. They'll probably feel relieved for a proper excuse they can give for hating your existence-"

Suddenly, the lamp fell from the nightstand and crashed into MonoWither, who let out a startled yelp and flew back several feet. The lamp hit the floor and rolled a few inches away. "What the-?! How did that happen?!" MonoWither cried out. They turned to Seto, who was staring at the lamp with wide eyes. "Did _you_ do that?"

Seto shook his head slightly. It almost seemed like some unseen force had _thrown_ the lamp in a fit of anger... But of course that was impossible.

"Ugh, whatever. Anyway, where were we? Oh, right! But you see, it's not too late to change that!"

"Wh- What do you mean?" Seto asked, confused.

MonoWither's voice suddenly took a friendly tone. "Well your existence might not matter at all, but what happened to you when you were a child wasn't your fault! All those people you were ordered to kill or torture, you were forced to do those things! It was all out of your control! You were a victim of circumstance..."

Seto wiped his eyes. "Why... Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"

"Because we want to help you! Now, 22... no, _21_ hours from now, we're gonna reveal your secret. But are you going to let that happen? Are you just going to sit around and watch as your 'friends' and the whole world turn on you and blame you for something that they don't fully understand?!"

"I... I won't kill my friends... I'd kill myself first..."

"Really? You know, if you _truly_ loved Sky, why did you call him out on his lies? If he really meant so much to you, then why did you prove that he was guilty and get him executed? Why didn't you just sacrifice your own life to save him? His blood is on _your_ hands because you didn't do that. _You're_ the one who got Sky killed, so don't claim that you'd never kill your friends for your own advantage..."

Seto shied away as MonoWither flew up close to him. "You already know what you can do to prevent the world from knowing your secret, don't you? Don't go taking your own life! That's utterly ridiculous and wasteful! You've only got this life, don't just throw it away by committing suicide! Isn't that just a permanent solution to a temporary problem? Plus, you've already soiled your hands with the blood of dozens, what's 12 more deaths going to do? End this show... Sacrifice those 'friends' of yours, those friends you don't need... Leave this place and start anew..."

MonoWither laughed and backed away. "By the way, we left everyone a bag of 30 WitherCoins as a prize for surviving the first trial! If you need us, we'll be at the shop!" They disappeared, leaving Seto alone.

Seto stared at the empty spot where MonoWither had been, breathing heavily. He looked down at the amulet in his hand, clutching it tightly, before putting it in his pocket. His legs trembled as he got off of the bed and walked over to the table where MonoWither had left the bag of coins. He sat down on the chair and released a shaky breath as he picked up the bag. A dark shadow crossed Seto's face as he thought carefully, silently formulating a plan...

He knew that he was falling into MonoWither's trap, but he didn't care. The poison of MonoWither's words, so very deadly, had already wormed its way into his brain like a parasite and withered his hope away.

There was no way he could let them find out about his past... They would tear him down, hate him, ignore him... And if the whole world found out, what did that leave for him?

He knew he was being a coward. But he no longer cared. After all... he'd always been a heartless monster, hadn't he?

Tears slid down Seto's cheeks as he finally succumbed to the cold, bitter embrace of despair.

* * *

A bell rang as the door to the shop opened. The sound of the door closing shut echoed hollowly. Seto stood at the entrance of the shop, his hood lowered over his face, his head bowed as he stared at the floor with a stone-cold expression.

"Ahhh, hello there! We see you've taken our words into consideration!" MonoWither remarked with glee. "We're so glad you came! We've decided that increasing the price over time might lose our customers, so we've scratched that idea out. Anyway, what would you like to buy? We've added some interesting new products! Would you like a crowbar? A lighter? Or perhaps a box of poison darts? Eh? Too uncivilized for you? Okay, how about a pencil? You could take out someone's eye, it's way better than the pens we provided with the notebooks!"

"I'll have a dagger," Seto replied in a monotone voice.

"Oooh, the ultimate classic! Simple, yet efficient! Very clever! As expected of the trained assassin/torturer, right?"

Seto did not reply. "It's 20 WitherCoins, right?"

"Yes indeed? Do you want the diamond one? Or a gold one for symbolism?"

"Iron's fine," was the mumbled reply.

"Yes, yes, _now_ we're talking! Who wants all the flashy stuff when the victim loses the same amount of blood anyway, right?" MonoWither asked, cackling. "We admire your practicality! One iron dagger coming right up!" The blade clanked against the surface of the shop counter as MonoWither dropped it.

Seto slowly picked up the dagger and examined it, turning it this way and that in his hand, watching as the blade glinted in the light. The brown hilt of the blade had an yin-yang symbol on it, although it was silver rather than black-and-white. Otherwise, it was a relatively simple and plain weapon, with a comfortable grip. Seto determined that it wasn't too large or too small for use, so he pocketed the blade carefully, listening as it clinked against the amulet. He then pulled out the bag of coins and dumped it on the counter.

"Thank you for shopping at MonoWither's Shop!" MonoWither declared happily. "We hope you're pleased with your service!"

Seto did not reply as he mechanically walked out of the shop, the bell chiming once more.

* * *

It was 6 in the evening when Seto finally left his room and headed to the cafeteria. Surprisingly, everyone was there for dinner. Perhaps the motive had compelled them to all stay in the same area. They all looked up when he entered the room.

"Seto!" Bonks cried out happily the moment she saw him.

Seto did his best to smile at her. "Hey..." he murmured, sitting down between her and Tyler.

"Are you feeling better?" Tyler asked.

Seto nodded. "Yeah, I just needed some time by myself..." He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for hurting you... again."

"It's no problem," Tyler said, grinning. "The pain went away, it's no biggie."

"...That's good..." Seto swallowed. "I... I think I'm ready to tell you guys my secret."

The whole cafeteria went silent. "Are you sure?" Husky asked, concerned.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you seemed really freaked out before..." Jason murmured.

"You can just wait until MonoWither reveals it tomorrow, if you want," Jordan suggested. "That's what I'm doing."

Seto shook his head. "If MonoWither's going to reveal our secrets, I might as well tell you now. Besides, I'd rather you hear it from me than from them."

"That's really brave of you," Ashley remarked. Seto was surprised to hear her say a compliment like that.

"I wish I had guts like you," Mitch muttered to himself.

"So... what's the secret?" Ryan asked.

Seto took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I used to be suicidally depressed."

There was a long silence as everyone processed what he'd just said. "Oh..." Annie said, bringing her hands to her mouth.

"Seto, that's..." Jerome said, trailing off.

"...in the past," Seto muttered. "I don't feel that way anymore."

"But Seto, that's awful!" Steven declared in a pained voice. "Why would you feel that way in the first place?"

Seto paused. "That's not important. Like I said, it's in the past. I just didn't want to talk about it."

"Well, I'm proud of you for telling us that," Tyler murmured, patting his shoulder.

"Really?" Seto said, forcing himself to smile slightly.

"Yeah, I'm glad you don't feel that way anymore," Bodil said, grinning.

That... had turned out better than expected. It had been the only secret which he felt would convince them the best. He hadn't expected this kind of positive support from everyone...

Seto made himself ignore the guilt building up inside.

As he ate dinner with the rest of the group, he kept thinking about how no one would suspect that he was lying about his true secret. The knife hidden in his pocket felt heavier the more he thought about it, and he was afraid he would accidentally brush against someone and get caught.

Seto tried not to pay attention to Bonks, who was chatting with Steven about his animated show, and forcefully suppressed his emotions. He couldn't let his feelings get the better of him. Not when he'd already chosen Bonks as his selected target.

* * *

Everyone went to their rooms after dinner, emotionally exhausted. Seto mentally went over the plan again and again.

He'd chosen Bonks because she was physically the weakest and also more likely to trust him and let him into her room. Tyler had been his original choice, but there was always the slim chance that if he fought back he'd disarm Seto somehow. So that left Bonks as the optimal target. It would take some persuasion on his part to get into her room, but the cover-up story he'd come up with would probably do the trick...

 _It_ _'s_ _not_ _too_ _late_ _to_ _give up_ _..._ a small part of his mind thought. _You_ _don't_ _have_ _to_ _do_ _this_ _..._

He ignored that thought.

Night Time began and Seto waited for about thirty minutes before getting up. He walked over to the door and pushed on the doorknob, but for some reason it was jammed. Seto jiggled it repeatedly, his confusion growing to panic. Had he been locked in somehow?

Finally the doorknob gave way and he pushed the door open. _Well, that was strange..._

_Maybe it's a sign that you should turn back. Don't do this._

_But I have to._

_No you don't, that's what_ _MonoWither_ _wants you to do! You can't fall into his trap!_

_...I don't even care anymore._

Seto briefly wondered if Sky had been experiencing the same internal conflict before killing Jade...

Seto took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself as he walked over to Bonks' room and knocked on the door. A few seconds passed before the door opened a sliver. Bonks hesitantly peered through the crack before opening the door a little further. "Seto?"

Seto did his best to look nervous, which was simple enough since he was already feeling uneasy. He swallowed. "B-Bonks? Can I stay in your room for the night?"

"What? Why?" Bonks asked, bewildered.

"I... I was in my room and all of a sudden I heard someone trying to open my door. They kept trying to turn the doorknob! I wanted to answer it, but I was scared that someone was trying to get in to... you know... kill me..." Seto looked around. "I mean, I could probably defend myself with my powers, but just in case... Can I stay in your room for the night? I'm pretty sure no one would think I'd be in here, so..."

Bonks paused, and for a moment Seto was afraid she'd shut the door in his face. "...Sure!" Bonks said, moving aside so Seto could enter. She shut the door behind him and sat on the bed. "Uh... Where are you going to sleep?"

Seto did not move from the door.

"...Seto?"

Seto shut his eyes and forced himself to stay calm. "I... I'm sorry Bonks."

Bonks' pink eyes widened. "What?"

Seto's hands shook as they glowed purple. He removed the hood from his head, something he never did in front of others. It was something he always did to hide the surgical scar on the back of his head. The scar Master Hennessy had left after messing with his brain and altering his soul... But now it didn't matter. He needed as wide a field of vision as possible. "I'm so, so sorry..." he whispered.

Bonks got to her feet and realized that Seto was blocking the door for a reason. "S- Seto, what are you doing?!" she asked frantically, backing away. "Why are you doing this? I thought you told us your secret already!"

"I lied! That wasn't my _worst_ secret!" Seto cried out, a few tears leaking from his eyes. He wiped them away as he stepped closer. "I'm so sorry, but I have to do this!" Bonks tried to run, but Seto reached his hand out and magically lifted her up into the air. Bonks clutched the invisible force around her neck, writhing and flapping her pink wings desperately as she attempted to free herself. All he had to do was snap her neck...

Suddenly, the magic flickered out from his hands and Bonks collapsed to the floor, wheezing as she gasped raggedly. "Sh- Shit... Why... Why now?" Seto cursed. He knew the reason why, however. He was emotionally compromised, he couldn't concentrate very well, and so his powers were failing him...

Bonks used that opportunity to flee to the shower room, but Seto was faster. He grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her against the wall. He then wrapped his hands around her neck and tried to choke her, but Bonks retaliated by slicing his left cheek with her claws. Seto took a step back, letting go of her as he brought his hand to the stinging cuts. Bonks was forced to run back to the corner, where she found herself trapped. Her eyes darted between the shower room and the door, realizing that either way she ran, she wouldn't make it past Seto.

Seto trembled as he reached into his cloak and pulled out the knife. "I was afraid... my powers wouldn't work..." he whispered, clutching the hilt tightly. "So... I got this just in case..."

Bonks pressed herself against the corner, raising her arms defensively in front of herself. "P- Please Seto..." she whispered fearfully. "This isn't like you at all! What's gotten into you?!"

Seto's eyes were filled with tears. "You don't know who I really am!" he yelled, holding the knife in a stabbing position.

"Stop! Let's just talk about this!" Bonks begged. "You don't have to do this, Seto! We're friends, right?"

Seto's grip tightened as he tried to bring the knife down, to slice at her raised arms and plunge the blade deep into her chest. But for some reason, he couldn't do it. His muscles wouldn't listen.

 _"It's not that hard, Seto. All you have to do is stab her."_ Seto heard Master Hennessy's voice say.

_No..._

_"STOP CRYING! KILL HER! THAT'S AN ORDER!"_

Seto's grip on the knife began to waver.

_"_ _You have to obey! That's what you were meant to do!"_

Suddenly Seto thought of MonoWither. _"You have to obey! That's what you were meant to do!"_ the machine repeated in his mind, sneering.

_No..._

_"You've already soiled your hands with the blood of dozens, what's 12 more deaths going to do?"_

_No..._

_"End this show... Sacrifice those 'friends' of yours, those friends you don't need..."_

_No..._

_"Leave this place and start anew..."_

_No, I won't!_

The knife slipped from Seto's fingers and crashed onto the carpet. "I- I can't- I won't-" he stammered, backing away from Bonks. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Bonks..."

Bonks slowly picked up the knife and Seto's pupils dilated in horror. Without thinking, he fled to the shower room and slammed the door shut, locking it. "Wait, Seto!" Bonks shouted, her voice slightly muffled. "Come back! I'm not going to hurt you!"

Seto sank to the ground next to the toilet, trembling violently as he clutched his head in his hands. "I'm sorry..." Seto whispered as he sobbed regretfully. "I'm sorry I tried to kill you... I didn't mean to..."

Bonks knocked against the door, jiggling the doorknob repeatedly. "Seto, open the door! I just want to talk to you!"

Seto shook his head and pressed his back further against the wall, whimpering in shame. How could he have tried to kill Bonks, his friend? How could he have succumbed to MonoWither's despair-filled speech?

Eventually the sounds from outside the shower room ceased as Bonks gave up trying to get a response from him. Seto hugged his knees to his chest. "I'm so sorry... I'm sorry..." he whispered over and over again as he shut his eyes tightly, rocking back and forth. His cheek stung due to the cuts Bonks had left him, but he didn't care. As he repeated this phrase, the emotional stress he'd felt throughout the entire day finally overwhelmed him as he sank into a fretful slumber.

* * *

**DING DONG, DING DONG**

**Good morning, bastards! It's 7 in the morning! Time to wake up!**

**Let's all strive to have fun and entertain the audience today**!

Seto jolted awake at the sound of the announcement and gasped for air. For a moment he was confused, wondering where he was and why he was sitting in the shower room. Then it all came crashing back to him: the motive, MonoWither's manipulative speech, his failed attempt to murder Bonks...

He heard Bonks knock against the door. "Seto? You awake?"

Seto's face paled and he shied away from the sound.

"Seto, I know you're still in there." Her voice sounded weary and exhausted.

Seto remained silent.

Bonks sighed. "I'm going to go to the cafeteria now. Just... don't stay in there forever, okay? If you aren't out of there in an hour, I'm going to get Jerome to break down the door."

Seto shut his eyes and released a long breath. "I'm sorry," he murmured for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"...I know you are."

He faintly heard the sound of the door closing as Bonks left the room. After a few moments, Seto slowly got to his feet and looked at himself in the mirror. He was a complete mess. He could see the four claw marks on his cheek under his left eye, although they had scabbed over during the night. Seto grabbed a tissue, rolled it into a ball, and dampened it with water before pressing it against the cuts. Seto winced as the cuts stung, but he continued to delicately wash off the dried blood.

When he was done, he looked in the mirror and realized that the cuts were still slightly visible. If he had makeup, he'd be able to hide them, but he couldn't find any in the bathroom. How was he going to explain this?

And then Seto realized that he wouldn't have to explain. Bonks would surely tell everyone what he'd tried to do...

His arms trembled as he gripped the sides of the sink and bowed his head. Oh god... No one would ever trust him again... Everyone would see him as a monster...

_"Well, that was disappointing to watch."_

Seto grit his teeth, not needing to turn his head to know who was there.

"We had a feeling you wouldn't be able to do it. You're too weak! Still, it would have been quite interesting if you'd actually gone through with killing her!" MonoWither remarked.

"Go away," Seto muttered hoarsely. He had no more tears left to shed.

"Don't worry, we're not mad at you for failing! After all, we still got the entertainment we wanted!" With a hearty cackle, MonoWither disappeared.

Still got the entertainment they wanted? What did they mean by that? A horrible thought crossed Seto's mind before he shook his head. MonoWither probably meant that they were satisfied with watching Seto suffer...

He stared at himself in the mirror, lightly tracing the marks on his cheek. Maybe it didn't matter anymore, but Seto didn't want to see them. His fingers glowed as he cast a spell, causing the marks to fade away. The masking spell wouldn't be permanent, but it would serve its purpose for the day.

Seto paused and raised his left arm, lowering the sleeve to show the pale scars still slightly visible there. Maybe... if he broke the mirror...

Seto put down his arm and tried not to think about that. He left the room, a hollow aching in his chest.

* * *

When he entered the cafeteria 10 minutes later, he saw Tyler, Steven, Bart, and Dave already there. Bonks was sitting next to Annie at another table.

"Hey Seto, did you sleep well?" Tyler asked.

Seto looked at Bonks, who avoided his gaze. Did she not tell them what happened? "Oh... I... uh... Yeah, I guess..." he stammered. He waited for Bonks to object, but she didn't say a word.

"I didn't sleep that well..." Steven admitted. "I kept thinking that someone was going to murder me... I mean, I've got Bart and Dave to protect me, but... still..."

"I didn't sleep well either," Annie admitted.

"You seem really tense, Seto," Steven pointed out. "Are you sure you slept well?"

"Did you have a nightmare or something?" Annie questioned.

"Y-Yeah, I guess you could say that," Seto murmured. "Last night wasn't exactly the best for me..." That was an understatement.

"Same here," Tyler said quietly. There were dark bags underneath his eyes, but least he wasn't trying to hide his emotions with a false smile, so that was good.

Since Seto wasn't in the mood for breakfast, he sat down next to Dave, who was immersed in his Gameboy. The retro game he was playing was called "Ghast Blasters". He was controlling a pixelated character who was stuck in an spleef-like arena and trying to dodge the fireballs of a ghast. The objective for each level was to survive long enough until a certain amount of blocks had been destroyed by the ghast.

Seto wondered why Bonks hadn't told them what had happened. Was she waiting for everyone to arrive before saying something? Maybe that was the case...

A part of him wished that he could blame this all on MonoWither, but he knew that he couldn't. No matter how much he regretted his actions, the only one to blame for almost killing Bonks was himself. Bonks would probably never forgive him, just as he would never forgive himself.

When MonoWither revealed the secrets, everyone would wonder why Seto lied. Bonks would probably choose that moment to tell them what he'd tried to do, and then they'd all shun him (not that he didn't deserve that), and then...

Maybe it would be best if he admitted it himself, right now...

However, before he could do that, Ryan suddenly burst into the cafeteria. His lungs heaved as he gasped for breath. Everyone noticed the panicked, terrified expression on his face.

"Ryan?" Tyler asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Come quick- You gotta help!" Ryan uttered frantically, wheezing as he struggled not to pass out from a lack of oxygen.

Seto stood up and rushed over to support him. "What's wrong? What happened?" he demanded. Ryan continued to gasp for breath. "Ryan, calm down! Tell us what's wrong!"

"Dead body- in the pool- Oh god he's _dead_ -!"

Horror swept through the small group at the sound of those words. Seto's eyes dilated and he let go of Ryan, who leaned against the wall for support. "Ryan, go find the others! Everyone else follow me!" Seto ordered as he raced out of the cafeteria and practically flew up the stairs to the second floor.

Seto prayed that Ryan was wrong somehow. Ryan _had_ to be wrong. There was no way another murder had happened... Not like this... Not so soon after what had happened last time...

The first thing Seto saw when he reached the top was Mitch, who was kneeling on the pool deck and staring listlessly into the distance. He had a completely shell-shocked expression on his pale, tearstained face, as though his mind had gone numb with disbelief and horror. He was weakly clinging onto a towel that was wrapped around his soaked, shivering figure. His checkered hoodie and white T-shirt were drenched and slightly stained with blood. For a moment, Seto thought that Mitch had been injured, but then...

Seto's eyes trailed to the side, and what he saw made his skin crawl. A shiver of apprehension and fear coursed up and down his spine as he gasped, once again unable to look away. How... How could this have happened again? _Why_ had this happened again? It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, how soon yet another friend had been cruelly wrenched away from them...

Bonks, Annie, Tyler, Steven, Bart, and Dave finally caught up to Seto. Screams and cries of shock filled the air as they too saw the horrific sight.

Like a blooming lily in a pond, like smoke spreading from a fire, crimson blood emanated from the unmistakable corpse of Jerome, who was lying facedown at the bottom of the pool.

**A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED! Now then, after a certain** **amount** **of time has passed, the Show Trial will begin!**


	19. Thicker than Water

At first glance, Jerome was a fearsome bacca to behold. He towered over everyone, intimidating those who didn't know him with his muscular figure. However, underneath all that was a heart of gold. His smile, although baring large fangs, was always friendly. Jerome had been loyal and always wanted to protect his friends and family. To see him like this... Dead and lifeless...

_Murdered and betrayed..._

Seto's heart dropped the moment he heard the announcement. So Ryan had been right after all... Another murder had taken place...

"Jerome's... dead?" Tyler whispered in disbelief.

The initial shock of seeing Jerome's body gave way to terrible realization.

"Oh god, not again!" Annie shrieked, horrified.

"No... No..." Bonks said quietly, shaking her head as she trembled on the spot. "This can't be happening..."

Seto moved towards the body, but then stopped once he realized that he was about to step in puddles of blood which had lapped up onto the deck. Once again, he couldn't suppress the shiver of horror that shook his whole body. There was so much blood... blood that had been shed from his murdered friend...

Steven was clinging onto Bart and Dave, unable to speak for a few moments before finding his voice. "This- This can't be real!" he cried out. "How can Jerome be dead?!"

"Is little Stevie here in denial?" MonoWither asked mockingly, appearing out of nowhere. "Get in the water for a closer look and maybe you'll see that it's the real deal!" MonoWither flew towards the body, but then Mitch reached over and lifted a diamond sword from the ground. The towel slipped onto the floor as he stood up.

Seto's face paled. "Mitch?!"

Mitch said nothing. His face did not change one bit as he mechanically stepped towards MonoWither. Blood (Jerome's blood to be exact) dripped from the blade as he pointed the sword at the machine with a trembling hand. Everyone moved backwards, startled and afraid.

"What do you think you're doing, Mitch?" MonoWither demanded. "Are you threatening us? You're getting dangerously close to violating Show Regulation #5! Put that sword down or you'll end up like Jerome!"

Mitch's resolve did not waver one bit.

"We'll give you the count of three! One..."

Ryan entered the room, having gathered everyone else, and gasped. "Mitch, what the fuck are you doing?!" he exclaimed, rushing over to his side. Ryan placed his hand on Mitch's arm and tried to lower it, but Mitch's stance remained firm. "Come on, put that down!"

"Two..."

"Give it to me, goddamnit! You're not going to die too!" Ryan uncurled Mitch's fingers from the hilt and took the sword from him before placing it back on the floor. Mitch didn't resist; he just let his arm drop limply to his side. Tears of grief and anger trickled slowly down his blank, shell-shocked face.

It suddenly occurred to Seto that Mitch had been trying to guard the corpse of his friend from everyone, not just MonoWither.

"Close call there!" MonoWither declared. "Remember, violence is never the answer unless you're trying to end this show! Which, as you can see before you, someone is definitely trying to do!"

"Someone killed Jerome?!" Bodil shrieked hysterically.

MonoWither cackled. "Wow Bodil, for the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Traceur, you're quite slow! Anyway, you guys know what to do now! It's time to start investigating! And, just like last time, here's a gift from us to you!" MonoWither passed a tablet to Seto. "It's the second MonoWither File! Hopefully this will help you during the investigation! Now go do your Sherlock Holmes shenanigans and whatnot. Good luck!"

With that, MonoWither left the crime scene.

"I thought we'd never have to go through this a second time..." Jordan murmured as he balled his hands into fists and looked away.

"Wh-Why?" Husky asked quietly as he stared at Jerome's corpse lying in the pool. "Why did this have to happen again?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ashley replied, gritting her teeth. "Someone here gave in to MonoWither's motive. Someone here murdered Jerome because of it."

"But who would do such a thing?!" Jason asked, panicking. "Who would murder Jerome?! _Why_ would they kill him?!"

"Stop." Everyone fell silent as they turned to Seto. "Everyone needs to calm down. We're wasting time. This is neither the time nor the place to be letting our emotions get the best of us, even though..." Seto looked down at Jerome and swallowed painfully. "...even though Jerome's dead. We cannot mourn now. We need to focus on finding clues that will lead us to the killer." Seto turned to Ryan. "Ryan, please tell us what happened and how you found the body."

Ryan stared at the floor, tears gathering in his eyes. "L-Last night... the three of us were staying in Mitch's room... and then we decided to sleep. I think in the middle of the night I heard something because I woke up at around... I don't know, it was too dark to see the clock. Mitch was still asleep next to me. But I saw Jerome standing in the middle of the room for some reason. I remember asking him what he was doing, but he just told me to go back to sleep, so I did..."

A shadow crossed Ryan's face. "When I woke up again, it was around 6:00. I realized that Jerome wasn't in the room anymore, so I panicked and woke up Mitch. We started checking the first floor, but he wasn't there, so we went up to the second floor. I took one look in the pool, and then... I saw..." Ryan swallowed and meekly raised a quivering finger to point at the body before dropping his arm limply by his side. "Mitch tried to get the body, but I had to stop him so he wouldn't destroy the crime scene... You- You might not believe me but... that's what happened..."

There was silence as everyone processed these words.

Seto closed his eyes for a moment. "...Thank you, Ryan." The sorcerer scanned the crowd. "We don't have any more time to lose. Who will guard the crime scene?"

"I will," Ryan muttered, his face hardening with determination. "It's the only thing I can do right now, isn't it? Besides, I'll do anything to catch Jerome's killer, no matter what... I'll make them pay for what they've done..." Without waiting for a response, he carefully steered Mitch over to the nearby bench and sat him down. Ryan found another towel and wrapped it around the shivering man, who weakly clung onto it, before taking his seat beside him. His blue eyes glared at the group, as if daring them to defy him.

Seto nodded sadly. "I guess that settles it. And... like last time... some of you will have to leave to find more clues outside."

There was a pause before several people gradually filed out of the room. In the end, Mitch, Ryan, Bonks, Husky, Jordan, and Tyler were left.

Seto turned on the tablet, which had "MonoWither File #2" on the screen, and swiped up to show an outline of Jerome's body. Bloodstains covered most of his chest area. The text next to the figure said, "The victim is Jerome, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Axe Wielder. His body was found in the pool at approximately 7:13 am. He was killed by a stab wound to the right side of his chest and died from rapid blood loss lasting a few minutes. There were no other injuries sustained before death."

"Maybe we should take the body out now..." Jordan murmured.

With great reluctance, Seto reached out and used his magic to pull the corpse up to the surface. Husky and Jordan managed to haul the bacca's body (which was considerably heavier than normal) up onto the deck, gingerly positioning him so that he was lying flat on his back.

Jerome's face was strangely serene, and there was even a slight smile on his lips. It almost looked like he was still alive, but his wide eyes were far too vacant and his body was far too limp. This was only a lifeless husk of their fallen friend.

"Seto?" Tyler asked quietly as he knelt down beside Jerome's body. "Should I search his pockets?"

Seto stooped down as well. "That would be a good idea," he murmured in reply.

Tyler reached into Jerome's right pocket and pulled out a small black box. He held it in his hand, staring at it with bewilderment. Seto's face paled. "Is... Is that...?"

Tyler trembled as he slowly pried the box open. A diamond ring was inside. Everyone stopped and turned to stare at it.

_"I'm really hoping that after all this, I can see Louise again," Jerome said, chuckling sadly. "There's something I've been_ _meaning_ _to tell her..."_

_Mitch patted Jerome's shoulder. "Like I told you before, I'm sure you'll get the chance to tell her soon enough..."_

Bonks audibly gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Husky averted his eyes, clenching his teeth. Ryan balled his hands into fists, his fingernails digging into his palms.

Poor Mitch's vacant expression did not seem to change at all.

"It's tragic," Jordan said quietly, pain aching in his hollow voice, "but there's nothing we can do."

Seto nodded slowly. "...You're right," he murmured in reply.

Tyler reached into Jerome's other pocket and took out his e-Handbook and room key. "There doesn't seem to be anything else..." he murmured. "Oh- Oh wait a minute, here's something." Tyler pulled out a small piece of paper, which was totally soaked. He delicately placed the paper on the floor, trying not to tear it.

"Can you still read it?" Seto asked. "Or is it too smudged?"

Tyler pursed his lips as he squinted his eyes, adjusting his glasses with one hand. "I... I think I can see it..."

Seto sighed. "I'll read it." He scanned the note, which fortunately for them seemed to have been written with a pencil and thus hadn't bled in the water.

_Jerome,_

_Read this letter alone in your room and make sure that the camera can't see what I've written here._

_I wrote this letter instead of telling you outright so that whoever's controlling_ _MonoWither_ _won't find out what we're planning. I've decided that you should meet me in the pool area at around 5:00 am tonight. I doubt the mastermind behind all of this will be watching us then, they'll probably be sleeping. What I wanted to say earlier was that one of steel plates covering the window by the pool doesn't seem to be screwed on tightly enough. With your strength, maybe we could break out of here! It's worth a shot, right?_

_I know this probably sounds suspicious, especially after the motive, but please trust me on this. You know I'd have no reason to kill you. You already know my secret, since I told everybody. So please believe me! I_ _f we can escape this place, we can all be saved! Don't you want to leave?_

_I hope you'll trust me on this, although I'll understand if you don't._ _But this might be our only chance, our only hope..._

"It wasn't signed..." Seto pointed out.

"That- That was so obviously a lie..." Bonks whispered.

"How could Jerome have fallen for something like this? It doesn't make sense!" Husky asked.

"Yeah, Jerome would have been much more careful than that," Tyler said quietly.

"He must have trusted that person," Jordan muttered. "The letter does say that the writer told all of us their secrets. Jerome must have thought they had nothing to hide..."

Bonks glanced at Seto quickly before looking away, her face unreadable. Seto bit his lip, guilt weighing heavy on his heart.

 _"Wow, a steel plate wasn't screwed on tightly enough?"_ MonoWither suddenly cut in. "That's news to us! Who the hell wrote this bullcrap in the first place?! What kind of hosts do they think we are?! Not screwing on a plate tightly enough?! Only careless hosts would do that!"

" _Shut the fuck up!_ " Ryan yelled.

MonoWither promptly went silent.

"You... stupid robot..." Ryan whispered in a deadly voice. Then he shook his head. "Seriously, that's not important! What's important is that the killer told everybody their secret, right?" Ryan asked, a dark expression on his face. "Who told everyone their secret again?"

"That would be Jason, Jerome, Tyler, and Seto..." Bonks whispered. "And Jerome's already dead..."

The two who happened to be in the room both flinched. "N-No! Wait!" Tyler shrieked. "It wasn't me, I didn't-"

"Sure Tyler, that doesn't sound suspicious at all!" Ryan yelled back. "You even _showed_ everyone your secret, right? You wanted to really drive in the fact that you supposedly had nothing to hide, _right?!_ " His breathing grew heavier. "You're the SDML Drama Actor, aren't you? That means you could easily pretend to be totally innocent..."

"No, no I wouldn't!" Tyler insisted, wilting under Ryan's icy glare. "Please, Ryan! You have to believe me!"

"Why the fuck should I trust you?" Ryan shouted.

"Ryan, calm down and think rationally," Jordan murmured. "After all, Tyler is no different from Seto and Jason. They may not have shown anyone their papers directly, but still. Ganging up on one person won't solve anything."

"Oh, so you have proof he didn't kill Jerome?" Ryan asked.

"No, of course not," Jordan replied calmly. "And I don't have any proof he did, other than the fact that he told everyone his secret. The killer could very well be Seto or Jason instead. If we just focus on the investigation with a clear mind, then maybe we'll find the killer."

Ryan clenched his jaw and growled. "Fine... But I'm keeping an eye on you two, Seto and Tyler... I'm watching you very carefully..."

"Ah! As expected of the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Warden!" MonoWither remarked excitedly. "We're sure that nothing will escape your attention, just like how you didn't notice Jerome was about to leave the room because he had fallen into the killer's trap-"

"Shut up shut up shut up shut _UP!_ " Ryan shrieked hysterically, a vein on the side of his temple twitching erratically.

Seto began to wonder if Ryan was starting to lose his mind completely...

...but then again, after seeing Jerome's body like that along with hearing what MonoWither had so cruelly pointed out, who could blame him?

"Anyway, Jordan's right!" MonoWither continued, heedless of Ryan's words. "Stop wasting time and hurry up with the investigation! Your friends are already making great progress while you're here just messing around!" The machine promptly disappeared.

Husky swallowed nervously. "Let's... continue then..." he whispered.

"We should start investigating the other rooms," Jordan suggested. "I will take the weight room."

"I'll do the locker rooms," Husky said.

Seto stood up. "Tyler and I are going to investigate the infirmary."

"No you can't!" Ryan yelled. "Both of you are suspects! You can't leave my sight! You're staying here! Bonks can go investigate there!"

"We don't have much time left, and we'll need all the help we can get," Bonks pointed out. "If you want, they can come with me. I'm not a suspect."

Ryan glowered at her. "...Fine."

All of them dispersed, moving quickly to make up for lost time.

"Thanks Bonks," Tyler said after Ryan was out of earshot.

"No problem," Bonks replied.

Seto had the feeling that saying something would make things more awkward. How could he apologize to her like this? Furthermore, why hadn't Bonks said a single thing to anyone about what he'd tried to do?

Seto suddenly stopped walking when his foot collided against a plastic bucket lying by the pool. _What in the..._

"Oh, there were some of those in the women's locker room!" Bonks exclaimed. "MonoWither told me that there were some in the men's locker room too, for 'ice bucket challenges' and 'imaginary sandcastles' or something like that..."

"What's one doing here though?" Tyler asked.

Seto noticed that there were still moist droplets clinging to the sides of the bucket. "...not sure," he replied. "Let's keep going."

They reached the infirmary. "All right, I'm going to help Husky with the locker rooms," Bonks said.

"What? Why?" Tyler asked, confused.

"He didn't realize that only a girl can check the girl's locker room," Bonks replied.

"But aren't you supposed to make sure we don't do anything since we're suspects?"

"I trust that at least one of you isn't the killer," Bonks said, glancing quickly at Seto. Tyler didn't notice, but Seto did. Did this mean...

...did this mean that Bonks realized Seto couldn't be the killer?

Bonks walked away, leaving Tyler and Seto behind.

"That's a little weird, but oh well!" Tyler said. "I hope Ryan doesn't notice, or he'll flip..."

"Yeah, we should hurry," Seto said. He pulled out his e-Handbook and scanned it. The scanner flashed green before the door unlocked. Seto pushed open the door and the two entered the room.

"Um, Seto?" Tyler asked. "I was just wondering... why'd you want me to come with you?"

"Because I think the infirmary is the most important room that could have clues," Seto replied.

"What makes you say that?"

"...I just have a gut feeling. Plus, there's a lot of supplies a killer could use in the infirmary, ironically," Seto said. "Anyway, start looking around for anything that looks out of place."

"Like this?" Tyler asked, pointing into the trash can.

Seto looked into the container and saw a bunch of discarded tissues inside. "What about that?" he asked.

"That's a lot of tissues..." Tyler muttered as he picked up the trash can and dumped its contents out. An empty packet of blood that had been hidden underneath the tissues fell out.

"...Huh," Seto remarked.

"What does it mean?" Tyler questioned. "Why would-"

"Don't ask, just find as many clues as possible," Seto said as he quickly took a photo of the blood packet using his e-Handbook.

"Y-Yeah, investigate first, wait for the trial..." Tyler said.

Seto walked over to the potion cabinet and looked inside. They were all still in orderly rows on the shelves, and none were missing. It didn't seem like any of the potions had been taken from there. He took note of this and closed the cabinet.

He then walked by the gurneys, observing each one carefully by lifting each blanket and looking underneath. Seto stopped when he saw one in particular that caught his attention. "...Hey Tyler, could you take a look at this?"

"What?" Tyler asked, walking over to where Seto was standing.

"Notice anything strange about this?" Seto said, gesturing to the gurney.

"Uh... Not really?" Tyler admitted sheepishly.

"There's an imprint on the mattress," Seto remarked.

"Oh, you're right!" Tyler exclaimed. "I'm not going to ask what it means, though."

Seto gave him a wry smile before taking a photo of the gurney. He tried to resist the urge to piece the clues together. If he did it incorrectly, he could have a totally incorrect perspective on the whole matter.

Finally, he went into the bathroom and searched the shower room, but there was nothing worthy of note.

 _"Investigation time is over!"_ MonoWither announced over the speakers. "Now then, please head over to the basement entrance near the trash room!"

Seto felt panic build up within him. What if they'd missed something super important? What if they'd pay for it during the trial? What if-

"Let's get going," Tyler murmured.

"Oh! Not yet!" MonoWither exclaimed as they suddenly appeared. "Seto here still needs to do something before the trial!"

"Do what?" Seto asked, squinting with suspicion.

"You still need to take a certain pill!" MonoWither pointed out. "Here, we have it for you!"

A brown pill suddenly popped out of the middle head's mouth and Seto caught it. "...what if I don't take it?" Seto questioned.

"Oh, well, defiance of the show's hosts isn't taken very well, if you know what we mean..." MonoWither said, their gleeful tone masking a rather menacing, deadly one.

"Seto... Just take it... It's not worth the risk..." Tyler whispered, afraid.

Seto glared at the machine before swallowing the pill dry. His face twisted with slight discomfort. "Fine. I took your stupid pill. Happy?"

"Yep yep yep! Now both of you head over to the basement entrance!" MonoWither said before disappearing.

* * *

The elevator shook as it descended down into the basement. The remaining 12 participants (along with Bart and Dave) stood there silently, each of them filled with nervousness of their impending fate. Seto gazed off into space, musing over the possible killer. He didn't have enough information though...

They'd made it through one trial, but could they survive another? Who would be the blackened one trying to escape while sacrificing their friends? Who would be capable of deceiving, betraying, and killing Jerome, the loyal one who'd done his best to protect and save everyone?

Why had this happened again?

The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. "Find your seats, everyone!" MonoWither ordered from their throne. They all obeyed. Ryan guided Mitch to his place before going to his.

This time, the courtroom walls were a cold and uninviting gray. It reminded Seto of a dark prison, trapping them all in this hellish place...

Seto noticed that Jerome's stand was now replaced by a black-and-white portrait of his face. The "X" consisted of two axes. "Hahaha!" MonoWither laughed. "Do you like what we did? We... _axed_ out his face! Get it?"

No one laughed.

"Ugh, you're all so boring with no concept of true humor... Anyway, we are here to discuss the murder of Jerome, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Axe Wielder. It's time for our Super Duper Minecrafter participants to solve this super duper mystery and find the super duper culprit of this super duper heinous crime! If they choose correctly, the blackened alone will be punished. But if they choose incorrectly, then they will all be punished, the blackened will be free to leave, and the show will end!" MonoWither recited. "Eeek! We're so excited we finally got here! We've been waiting for so long!" they squealed.

Seto continued to stare at Jerome's crossed-out portrait. None of them had thought they'd have to go through this again. Jerome himself probably never expected he'd be the next victim of this sick, twisted game that MonoWither was playing...

But he couldn't think about that right now. They couldn't change what had already happened. Musing about it at a time like this wasn't going to fix anything. Seto grit his teeth and hardened his resolve. He had to be focused. He had to, for Jerome. He had to bring his killer to justice, even if that killer was another precious friend of theirs...

It had to be done. There was no other way. Even if there was only despair waiting for them in the end, it had to be done...

MonoWither slammed the gavel down on the button. For the second time, the court was in session.


	20. Pointing Fingers

"So... where do we start?" Ashley asked after a few seconds of silence. "Has anyone found any important clues? Because no one on the first floor found any..."

"Why don't we start with a certain letter we found in Jerome's pocket?" Ryan asked, something dangerously flashing in his blue eyes. "Seto? You have it, right?"

Seto sighed as he gingerly pulled out the piece of paper, taking great care not to tear it. He read it aloud once again, this time to the 11 remaining participants in the courtroom.

_Jerome,_

_Read this letter alone in your room and make sure that the camera can't see what I've written here._

_I wrote this letter instead of telling you outright so that whoever's controlling MonoWither won't find out what we're planning. I've decided that you should meet me in the pool area at around 5:00 am tonight. I doubt the mastermind behind all of this will be watching us then, they'll probably be sleeping. What I wanted to say earlier was that one of steel plates covering the window by the pool doesn't seem to be screwed on tightly enough. With your strength, maybe we could break out of here! It's worth a shot, right?_

_I know this probably sounds suspicious, especially after the motive, but please trust me on this. You know I'd have no reason to kill you. You already know my secret, since I told everybody. So please believe me! If we can escape this place, we can all be saved! Don't you want to leave?_

_I hope you'll trust me on this, although I'll understand if you don't. But this might be our only chance, our only hope..._

When he was done, no one knew what to say. Ryan, however, still seemed to be extremely eager to catch the culprit and avenge Jerome. "See? The killer was someone who told everyone their secret, right? So that means that we can narrow down all the suspects to just Jason, Tyler, and Seto! It must have been one of them who killed Jerome!"

Jason's face visibly paled at the mention of his name.

"We're down to three suspects already?" Bodil asked, stunned. "That was really fast!"

Steven looked slightly more optimistic. "Maybe this won't be a lost cause after all!"

"But it's not enough," Jordan pointed out. "It's still two suspects too many."

Steven's face fell. "Yeah... that's true... And... I don't want to believe any of them would kill someone..."

"Jason, Tyler, Seto, do any of you have proof you're not the killer?" Annie asked quietly.

Jason closed his eyes, exhaling a long breath in an attempt to calm himself down. "...I-I've got nothing, unfortunately..."

"Th-There's gotta be something!" Tyler squeaked, eyes darting back and forth. "I swear I'm not the killer, I-"

"Seto?" Annie continued.

Seto bit his lip. He could see Bonks out of the corner of his vision giving him a rather strange look. Maybe, if he told everyone what he'd tried to do, it could serve as an alibi...

_No, you can't! They can't find out what you did! They'll never trust you ever again! They'll never see you the same way again!_

"...I..." Seto swallowed nervously. "I don't..." he lied.

"What if the letter lied?" Jason suggested, clearly attempting to find some way to clear his name of suspicion. "I mean... maybe the letter was slipped under Jerome's door or something... It wasn't signed, right? So the killer could have lied about having revealed their secret and Jerome **didn't know**!"

**> >>-LETTER->** **((DIDN'T KNOW))**

Seto shook his head. "No, Jerome would have been able to tell if the killer was lying. Look closely at what the letter says."

_What I wanted to say earlier was that one of steel plates covering the window by the pool doesn't seem to be screwed on tightly enough._

"The person who wrote the letter said 'what I wanted to say earlier'. This means that Jerome and the killer had discussed this before, so Jerome knew who they were. Therefore, Jerome would know if the killer was lying about revealing their secret. So whoever did this has to be either you, me, or Tyler..."

Jason stared down at the floor dejectedly. "Oh..."

"Dammit, we're stuck!" Ashley cursed.

"Now now, we can't lose hope yet!" Husky declared. "Maybe we should talk about alibis, maybe that'll help like last time-"

"No it won't," Jordan muttered.

"Huh? Why not?" Husky asked in confusion.

"Alibis only worked last time because MonoWither confirmed that there were no allies. I'm sure they won't be so helpful this time around."

"Yep yep! That's correct, Jordan! You guys got lucky last time! We've removed the training wheels and now you're on your own! Was there an ally, or did the killer work alone? Now that's up to you guys to find out! We're not telling!"

"Then maybe we should discuss the body, or other clues we found during the investigation," Steven suggested.

"Jerome was stabbed in the chest, more likely than not with the diamond sword found and died a few minutes later due to blood loss," Seto said. "According to the MonoWither File, he sustained no other injuries prior to his killing. He was found in the pool at around 7:13 am."

"I examined the body, it matches up with what the File says," Husky said.

"Why do you always examine the body?" Ashley asked.

MonoWither grinned. "Ooh, are you secretly a necrophiliac? Do we have to pull out the Kinkshame Hammer of Justice-"

"NO SHUT UP THAT'S FUCKING DISGUSTING! Anyway, I, uh, took a forensics biology course in college before changing my major to pyrotechnics..." Husky said awkwardly.

Jason looked perplexed. "But you told me you were forced to change your major because you failed the course-"

Husky's eyes widened in embarrassment. _"Th-That's not important!"_

Seto tapped the podium stand to get everyone's attention. "I think I've got an idea."

"You do?" Bodil asked hopefully.

Seto nodded. "Why don't we discuss how the murder must have occurred, based on what we know?"

Jordan stroked his chin. "Well, before nighttime, we know that the killer gave Jerome a letter, tricking Jerome into going to the pool at 5:00 am. While there, Jerome was stabbed by the killer and his body must have fallen in the pool. The killer then left Jerome's body there as well as the sword, figuring there'd be no point in hiding it, and went back to their room."

"And we all know that the only ones who could have done this are Jason, Seto, and Tyler..." Ryan hissed. "Come on, one of you should confess already! We're gonna get you sooner or later, just make things easier for us and give up!"

"But I didn't do it!" Jason yelled back.

"It wasn't me, right Seto?" Tyler asked desperately. "You- You know I wouldn't do something like this, right?"

Seto bit his lip and remained silent.

Tyler's eyes widened. "Seto, don't you trust me...?" Tyler asked quietly.

Seto looked away. He couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. A sickening nausea was lingering in his stomach. As much as he wanted to believe Tyler, as badly he wanted to after all they'd been through together, he'd learned a horrible lesson from what happened last time.

Sky. Sky was the one person he felt he could trust with his life. Seto had trusted him with everything. He'd trusted Sky would always be there for him, he'd trusted Sky would never betray him...

Trust didn't exist in a place like this, Seto had come to realize. If Sky of all people had betrayed him, even going to great lengths to _frame_ him for the horrible crime he'd committed, then that could only mean...

_...he couldn't trust anyone in this world of despair..._

A few seconds later, after realizing that Seto wasn't going to reply, the hope in Tyler's eyes faded. "I... I see..." he whispered in a hollow voice. "So... that's how it is then... I... I still trust you though... I know you didn't do this... You wouldn't kill anyone..."

Seto's rigid grip on the podium stand was turning his knuckles stark-white.

"Wait a minute..." Ryan said, squinting his eyes suspiciously.

"What?" Husky asked, confused.

"Tyler and Seto, you two slept in the same room the night before the motive was revealed, right? It all makes sense now... You two must have been conspiring together!" Ryan shouted, jabbing his finger in their direction.

Tyler's face paled. "No we weren't! I got super drunk that night and Seto let me in his room! I swear, that's all that happened, we didn't kill Jerome-!"

"I don't want to hear your damn excuses!" Ryan yelled.

"Do you have any proof, Ryan?" Seto asked calmly.

"Well- Well- Well you two are both suspects for the killer! This can't just be a coincidence! Plus, Tyler's been acting all nervous this whole time!"

"S-So have I!" Bodil shouted in defense. Then his eyes widened. "Wait, that doesn't mean I'm the killer!"

"I'm sorry Ryan, but you really need to cut your shit out," Annie muttered.

_"Excuse me?!"_

"I know you're upset and really want to avenge Jerome, I really do get that and I'm sorry, but you're not helping one bit. In fact, we're just going nowhere. So please don't keep accusing others and hoping they'll admit something."

"If you've honestly got nothing, just don't say anything," Ashley suggested. "That's what I'm doing."

Ryan grit his teeth. "F-Fine... But it's still gotta be one of you three! That letter the killer left said so!"

Seto narrowed his eyes as he thought carefully.

"Seto?" Jordan asked, noticing his expression. "Did you think of something?"

"...Just keep on discussing for now."

"Going back to what Jordan said," Bonks murmured, twiddling her thumbs. "Something's been bothering me..."

"What's been bothering you?" Steven asked, concerned.

"He... He died a few minutes later from blood loss, right? But if he fell in the pool, then, wouldn't he have drowned to death first?"

"But that obviously didn't happen, I mean, the MonoWither File did specify that he died from blood loss. That must have gotten to him first, that's the only explanation," Husky said.

"Yeah, that's probably it..." Bonks admitted. "Sorry..."

"All right then, um, maybe we should go back to the three suspects?" Ashley asked. "I thought that was a pretty good lead. We just need to narrow it down to one, and that letter's the most valuable clue we have. There's gotta be something we're missing about that letter!"

"Yeah, that makes sense Ashley!" Bodil exclaimed.

"...Really?"

"Yep! Now, about that letter, the killer told Jerome to meet him by the pool at 5, right?" the Bulgarian asked for clarification.

Jordan nodded. "And the killer made sure to write the plan out on a piece of paper so that Jerome could read it in private..."

"How convenient that Jerome **left the paper** in his pocket..." Annie said quietly.

**> >>-PENCIL-** **>** **((LEFT THE PAPER))**

"...Pencil," Seto mumbled to himself.

"What did you say?" Ryan asked, somehow hearing Seto from a significant distance away.

Seto pursed his lips together before pressing onwards. "Bonks, you have pencils for drawing, right?"

Bonks looked surprised. "Yeah I do..."

"Did you lend anyone a pencil?"

Now she looked confused. "No, I didn't. I mean, I let Steven borrow my pencils two days ago when we were drawing, but he gave them back... Why do you ask?"

"I remember MonoWither once told me that they were selling pencils at the shop, because they only provided pens with the notebooks. But the letter was written with a pencil, right? Why would the killer go through all the trouble of buying a pencil and wasting their WitherCoins when they could have just used a pen that was given for free?"

"Where are you going with this?" Jason asked, perplexed.

"The more I think about it, the more I feel like that the letter was just a ruse."

Husky's face paled. "A ruse?!"

Seto nodded. "It was a ruse meant to trick us, to make us suspect the wrong people for the wrong reasons."

"Could you please explain why you think that?" Jordan asked.

"Certainly. Now as I said before, it doesn't make much sense for the killer to go through the trouble of buying a pencil and wasting their coins when they could have just used a pen... unless the killer planned this whole thing out. After all, ink from a pen bleeds in water, right? But the graphite in pencil doesn't. See what I'm getting at here?"

"You mean, the killer specifically wrote that letter in pencil so that we'd be able to read what it said after checking Jerome's pockets?!" Steven asked, stunned.

Ryan banged his fists against the podium stand, startling everyone. "That doesn't make any goddamn sense!" he shouted. "First of all, why the hell would the killer want to do that?! Why would the killer **expose himself** like that?!"

**-LETTER- ((EXPOSE HIMSELF))**

"Because what the letter said was completely false. Jerome never even got that letter in the first place. It was placed in Jerome's pocket after he died," Seto said.

A vein on the side of Ryan's forehead started twitching crazily. "What in the hell? Is this your way of defending yourself? Because it seems to me like it's just making you look even more guilty! Do you really expect us to believe you?!"

"Sounds crazy, I know, but that's the only logical explanation why the killer would use a pencil to write the letter. The killer wanted us to be fooled and start blaming the ones who revealed their secret, when they weren't the culprits at all."

"Hold on a second!" Annie cried out. "You're saying that the killer planted the message in Jerome's pocket after killing him, right? But how would they have been able to do that? If Jerome's body fell in the pool, how would the killer be able to place the letter there? The letter must have been in there the whole time, even prior to Jerome's death!"

"...you're assuming Jerome's body fell in the pool right after he died. Sorry Husky, but Bonks was right. If someone fell in the pool even after being stabbed, they would drown to death first. Plus, the MonoWither File even stated that he died from blood loss _a few minutes later_. Jerome couldn't have died _in_ the pool. At the very least, he died on the pool deck and the killer placed the letter in his pocket before pushing his body in the pool. That would also explain why he was lying facedown rather than face-up."

"Don't tell me that's what really happened!" Bodil said, his face pale. "The letter was fake all along?!"

"We've been following a false lead this whole time?" Husky whispered.

Seto's face hardened. "It's gotta be the truth, but I think... I think this clears my name as well as Jason's and Tyler's..."

"It wouldn't make sense for the killer to frame themselves, right?" Jason asked, silently praying the rest of them would agree.

"So that means we're not guilty!" Tyler exclaimed, relieved.

"But still, we're practically back to square one," Ashley said, staring down at the floor. "Now we've eliminated three suspects, but we've still got nine more, and I've got no way of proving that I didn't do it..."

"Maybe the killer didn't buy a pencil," Ryan muttered. "After all, isn't there one clear suspect? It's got to be Bonks, of course!"

Bonks let out a shriek of horror. "No! You've got it all wrong! I wouldn't do that!"

"Got any proof?" Ryan asked.

"It- It wouldn't make sense for me to use a pencil like that, it'd be too obvious it was me! Plus, I'm not strong enough to kill a bacca like Jerome..."

Seto sighed. "Ryan, please stop. You're accusing her based off a possibility that isn't backed up with cold, hard facts."

"Well it's a possibility that I think we should keep in mind," Ryan muttered.

No one had the heart to further reprimand Ryan for his senseless accusations.

"But one thing I don't get is... why would Jerome have been in the pool area in the first place?" Steven asked.

"That's a good question Steven. If the letter was false, then Jerome would have no reason to be there," Jordan said quietly.

"Maybe the killer just told Jerome themselves?" Annie suggested.

"Yeah, I mean, **all the killer wanted** to make us believe was that they'd told everyone their secret, right?" Tyler asked.

**> >>-MONOWITHER-FILE-#2-** **> ** **((ALL THE KILLER WANTED))**

"I don't think so," Seto muttered. "I think the killer wanted to hide something else."

"Like what?" Jason questioned.

"It bothered me how the second MonoWither File seemed to be lacking some vital information compared to the first one. Last time, the MonoWither File specifically stated the approximate time of death and the place where the murder occurred."

"Well, maybe MonoWither just didn't feel like stating the obvious?" Ryan asked. "It's pretty clear to me that Jerome died near the pool area and that the murder occurred shortly after 5."

Seto shook his head. "You're going by this based off of what the letter said. The letter was proven to be false."

"Okay, then you tell me how the hell Jerome ended up in the pool if he wasn't told to go there by the killer!" Ryan yelled. "I even saw him preparing to leave Mitch's room myself! I don't exactly know the time he did, but he still left voluntarily! Don't you dare tell me I'm lying! I saw it with my own eyes you dumbass!"

Seto felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He'd totally forgotten that Ryan had seen Jerome leave the room... "I... Well..."

_God, you really are an idiot, aren't you. How could you have forgotten that crucial piece of evidence? Our lives are at stake here, you know!_

Ryan glowered at the sorcerer, who was at a loss for words. "You know Seto, you're still not completely off the hook! After all, you could have faked that letter yourself and come up with an 'explanation' yourself to trick us!"

Seto ignored Ryan's baseless accusation and continued on. "Nevertheless, we don't know if Jerome was headed to the pool at all. I... I personally think Jerome's body was transported to the pool and placed inside to trick us into thinking he died in that area."

"What?!" Bonks shrieked. "How is that even possible?"

"Jerome's a bacca. Do you realize how difficult it would be to carry him?" Ashley demanded.

"That's right!" Bodil declared. "You can see the facts with your e-Handbook! He weighed over 200 pounds!"

"Plus, dead bodies are harder to carry than live, conscious ones!" Husky asserted. "I know that much!"

"I'm sorry Seto, but... there's just **no way** Jerome's body could have been taken to the pool from a different place," Jordan said.

Seto was about to refute Jordan's statement, but that was when everything suddenly started going terribly wrong.

"Hold on a second," Annie muttered, silencing everyone. "I'm not sure how I didn't see this before, but..."

"But what?" Steven asked.

Annie pointed at Seto with a trembling finger. "Seto, your face, it looks like there's claw marks on it..."

Seto's eyes widened as his hand flew to his cheek. Oh god, the spell couldn't have worn off already, could it? How could this have happened at a time like this? The spell was supposed to last for a whole day!

_The pill,_ he realized with sudden dread, a dread that sank into his stomach and took his breath away. The damned pill MonoWither had forced him to take. How could he not have realized that it would affect his masking spell? Seto tried to turn away, to hide the scratches from view, but it was already too late.

There was a stunned silence as everyone stared at Seto. Even Mitch, who had been inactive and barely alive throughout the entire trial, shifted his blank gaze to face the sorcerer. The catatonic man's hands shook slightly as his hollow eyes met Seto's brown ones. His lack of an expression ironically seemed to say it all, at least that's what Seto thought.

"...I knew it..." Ryan hissed, glaring daggers at him from across the circle. " _You_ killed Jerome, _didn't you?!_ "

Seto heard MonoWither giggle, the machine clearly taking delight in the poor sorcerer's growing terror. He found himself clinging onto the podium stand as his quavering legs threatened to give way. "N-No, that's wrong..." he whispered, his voice faint. "I wouldn't kill him... I didn't... it wasn't me... believe me..."

"Then explain those claw marks!" Ryan yelled. "If you really didn't kill him, then explain how you got them!"

Seto couldn't speak, couldn't think. His mind had gone totally blank, and he was feeling extremely lightheaded.

Something akin to triumph gleamed in Ryan's ice-blue eyes. _"Ladies and gentlemen,"_ he said, chuckling darkly under his breath. _"I think we've finally found our killer."_


	21. Nothing I Wouldn't Do

"Seto, why do you have claw marks on your face?" Steven asked, horrified.

"I-Isn't it obvious?!" Ryan shouted, clenching his fists. "Jerome must have attacked him in self-defense! That's the only way he could have gotten those marks! Regular fingernails wouldn't do that!"

"But how come we didn't see them earlier?" Husky questioned. "How come we're only seeing them now?"

"Maybe he tried to hide the marks using his magic, but the spell unfortunately wore off..." Jordan mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Last time MonoWither made Seto take a pill to weaken his magic, right? Maybe MonoWither gave him one before this trial as well," Jason said quietly. "That must be it. It must have worn the spell off faster than Seto intended..."

"But that means... Seto's the killer?" Bodil shrieked shrilly.

"Well of course that's what we mean, Bodil!" Ryan replied. "See? He doesn't even have anything to say for himself!"

Ryan was right, unfortunately. All the blood had drained from Seto's face, making the scratches look even more apparent, and his eyes were as wide as saucers. Murmurs broke out, filling the courtroom, when suddenly...

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Tyler cried out, startling everyone into silence with his unexpected outburst. "It's not Seto! It can't be him! Seto wouldn't kill anyone! I won't believe it one bit!" He crossed his arms over his chest, trembling. "A-After all, when I got drunk, he took care of me when he could have easily just killed me! If he really wanted to kill someone, he would have murdered me right then and there when MonoWither suggested it, but he didn't!" The poor man turned to Seto and stared at him with pleading, desperate eyes. "R-Right, Seto? I trust you! You would never kill anyone, right?"

Seto didn't respond.

"But that was before the motive, isn't that correct?" Annie asked. "Don't you remember how Seto reacted after seeing his slip of paper?"

"B-But... No... it can't be... Seto..." Tyler said, trailing off. Seto closed his eyes tightly, his face twisted with shame. "What the hell are you guys saying! It- It's just a theory!" Tyler shrieked frantically, his eyes darting back and forth. "You have no absolute proof Seto did it! Jerome must have been killed by someone else!"

"Oh Tyler, that's exactly what you said about Sky, isn't it?" MonoWither suddenly cut in.

Tyler flinched. "Wh- What are you talking about?!"

"You know what we mean! You kept on blindly defending Sky during the last trial, refusing to listen to reason, when you knew all along he was the culprit! And now there's proof Seto did it, and here you go again, defending him without any rationality! Loyalty is a virtue, but too much is just ridiculous! You're the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Drama Actor, you should know full well that tragic flaws always bring about destruction! You never learn, do you? Geez Tyler, get with the program!" MonoWither said, cackling.

When Tyler heard this, he looked like the whole world had come crashing down on him. "But... But..."

"The motive changes people," Jason said in a low voice. "Sky had no intention of murdering anyone, but then MonoWither showed us those videos..."

"Don't you guys get it?" Ashley asked, her tone startlingly darker than usual. "Anyone can be a murderer here... No one can be trusted once a motive comes out..."

Tyler flinched and looked away. "No... Not again..." he whispered. "It... can't be... Seto wouldn't... This isn't like Sky... It can't be..." He trailed off and stared emptily into the distance, all the hope dying from his eyes.

"But Seto told us what his secret was yesterday," Steven said. "You can't be saying that Seto would... lie about something like that, right?"

"I wouldn't put it past someone capable of murder..." Ryan muttered darkly as he glared daggers at Seto. "I swear, I will make you pay for killing Jerome-"

"-Let Seto defend himself first," Jordan interrupted. "If he doesn't have any proof, then we'll know for sure."

"Y-Yeah!" Bodil stammered, clearly disturbed by the prospect of Seto being the killer. "We can't just gang up on him! I'm not sure if you know this, but it's really hard to defend yourself when everyone's accusing you all at once! I'm sure Seto has a good explanation, so if we'd just calm down and let him say something..."

"Seto? Don't you have anything to say?" Husky asked. It looked like he wasn't too eager to believe the whole thing either.

Seto's mouth opened and closed as he tried to say something, but found some strange force closing off his throat. "I... I..." Seto whispered, shaking his head slowly. "It wasn't me... I... I wasn't lying about my secret... I swear..."

"Then can you say where you got those marks?" Ryan asked.

Seto began to hyperventilate. _Come on, just tell them the truth! Just say it!_

His heart started to palpitate, pounding in his ribcage like war drums. His vision was starting to blur at the edges and he was on the verge of passing out right then and there. He could just feel everyone's eyes staring at him, glaring at him accusingly. Why, oh why had he tried to kill Bonks? Now everyone would realize who he really was. He could hear their voices echoing in his mind, repeating a mantra over and over again.

_Monster. Monster. Monster._

_Just say the truth!_

_Monster. Monster. Monster._

_SAY IT OR YOU'LL BE KILLED!_

_MONSTER! MONSTER! MONSTER-_

"It wasn't Jerome who gave Seto those marks," Bonks said suddenly.

Everyone turned to her, stunned. "How do you know for sure?" Jason asked curiously.

Bonks closed her pink eyes and took a deep breath, steadying herself, before replying. "I didn't want to say this earlier because I had a feeling you'd all get the wrong idea and jump to the wrong conclusions. But, the truth is, I was the one who gave Seto those marks. And I know for a fact that Seto didn't kill Jerome, because he tried to kill me instead last night."

There was silence as everyone processed these words.

"What?!" Bodil cried out, clutching his yellow tie.

"Seto tried to kill you?" Annie asked, horrified.

"Then how are you still alive?!" Husky demanded.

Bonks swallowed nervously. "At first he tried to use his magic, but he got too emotionally distressed. Then he tried to stab me, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. I don't think he even wanted to do it in the first place, because he freaked out and ran into my shower room and he didn't come out until morning..."

"This is just getting more and more confusing by the minute..." Ashley muttered.

"So what you're saying is that Seto tried to kill you, but couldn't make himself go through with it?" Jordan asked for clarification.

Bonks nodded. "That's why I didn't want to tell you guys earlier. Seto really regretted it, I could tell. And after we found Jerome, I was afraid you'd all get the wrong idea if I mentioned it, even though it technically clears both of our names..."

"How?" Steven asked, perplexed.

"Seto stayed in the bathroom the entire night, so he couldn't have killed Jerome. He can confirm that I wasn't the one who killed Jerome either. These are our alibis for what happened last night."

"I don't believe you," Ryan muttered.

"Huh?" Bonks asked, bewildered.

"Are you sure that's the reason why you didn't mention this at all? Because that sounds suspicious to me... In fact, you know what I think?" Ryan jabbed his finger at Bonks. "I think you and Seto worked together to kill Jerome!"

"No! That's not it!" Bonks shrieked, her eyes widening in horror.

"Leave Bonks out of this!" Seto shouted angrily. "You have every right to suspect me, but not her! She didn't do anything wrong! It's not her fault I tried to kill her, all right?!"

"That just further proves my point!" Ryan declared with conviction. "You two must be allies! Why else would you defend her? Remember when I said that you weren't off the hook yet? Remember when I said that Bonks could have written the letter?"

"N-Now hold on a second, Ryan..." Steven said, clearly disturbed by the idea Ryan had suggested. "We can't just jump to conclusions..."

"We understand you're upset about Jerome. We all are!" Jordan said. "But acting like this won't help anything!"

"Then give me some proof Seto and Bonks are innocent," Ryan hissed, glaring at Seto with a deadly expression. "Jerome **could have given** you those marks, after all!"

**> >>-HAND-SIZE-** **>** **((COULD HAVE GIVEN))**

"You want proof?" Seto asked, fighting to keep his voice steady as he raised his head and lowered his hand from his face. "Take... Take a good look at the marks. Does it look like Jerome could have given me these? We all know how large Jerome's paws were. Doesn't it look more like a smaller hand gave me these scratches?"

Ryan's face paled. "Well..."

"You're right!" Husky remarked. "Jerome would have left wider claw marks than that!"

"And now that I think about it, Jerome's a bacca," Ashley noted. "If he swiped at Seto with his claws, he probably would have torn half his face off."

"Y-Yeah... that wasn't a mental image I really needed right now..." Bodil said, tittering nervously.

"But that means Seto didn't kill Jerome, right?" Tyler asked hopefully.

"Any objections, Ryan?" Annie asked.

Ryan looked strangely furious, for some reason. "No," he spoke through his clenched teeth.

"Then I suppose this supports Seto and Bonks' alibis, however... strange they are for alibis," Jordan concluded.

Ryan grumbled to himself, fuming silently.

"Hey... Ashley?" Bonks asked.

"What?" the SDML Survivalist replied.

"About what you just said, how Jerome would have torn half of Seto's face off... Could Jerome have been able to fight back? I mean, it would have been pretty much impossible to fight Jerome head-on, right?"

Something dawned in Ashley's eyes. "The killer must have taken Jerome by surprise... Is that what you're saying?"

Bonks nodded. "Fighting Jerome head-on probably wouldn't have ended well for the attacker, even if he had a sword..."

"But Jerome was stabbed straight in the chest," Husky pointed out. "Which means that Jerome was facing the attacker when he was stabbed."

"What if the killer was going to stab Jerome from behind, but Jerome turned around at that moment?" Jason asked.

"The stab wound was too straight for that," Seto said. "It was angled slightly upwards, I'm assuming because the person was shorter than Jerome, but still. The killer had to be facing Jerome head-on when he suddenly pulled out the sword and stabbed Jerome before he could react. This rules out the possibility that Jerome was trying to kill someone."

There was a stunned silence. "W-Wait, that was a possibility?" Bodil asked, thunderstruck.

"I was trying to find a reason why Jerome would leave his room voluntarily," Seto replied.

"Well Jerome would never do something like that!" Ryan yelled furiously. "Jerome would never think of killing anybody, asshole!"

"I know, Ryan," Seto said quietly. "I know Jerome wasn't trying to kill anyone."

"Then why the hell did you even consider that idea?!" Ryan shrieked. "What kind of fucked up person are you?!"

"Do you think I enjoy doing this?!" Seto suddenly yelled back from across the circle, startling everyone. "Do you think I enjoy considering any one of my friends as killers?! Of course I don't! I hate this! I hate this so much! But I have to do this! That's what I have to do, or else everyone but the killer's going to die, all right?! So don't you dare call me a monster, _I'm not a monster anymore!_ " Shocked silence filled the courtroom once again. Not even Ryan had the heart to speak. Seto breathed raggedly, sniffling as he quickly wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes. "I... I'm sorry... I just..."

"No one called you a monster..." Tyler whispered, disturbed. "Seto, what did you mean when you said 'I'm not a monster anymore'?"

Seto's face paled. "That's not important right now," he replied, his voice shaking as he suppressed the overwhelming urge to break down into sobs. "Let's... let's just get this over with and go back to the trial... S-Sorry for going off track..."

 _"Seto's right!"_ MonoWither cut in. "Seto's emotional baggage isn't important whatsoever! No one cares about all that angsty stuff! What's really important is finding that killer, which you're all so far away from getting! Seriously, all this time has passed, and you guys have barely solved anything!"

"Seto, do you still think Jerome wasn't told by the killer to go to the pool area?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah, what about how you said Jerome wasn't killed there at all?" Husky questioned.

Jason looked apprehensive. "Do you still think that's true?"

Seto stared down at the floor. "...I'm not sure, I just have a feeling that's the case. After all..." He looked at Tyler. "Tyler, we investigated the infirmary, right? Did you remember anything strange about it?"

Recognition lit up in Tyler's eyes. "Yeah, it seemed like one of the gurney's had been used recently!"

"How?" Steven asked.

"There was an imprint on the mattress, indicating that a body had been placed there recently," Seto recalled. "I even took a photo of it using the e-Handbook... Take a look."

"That does look like someone was lying there recently," Annie said in agreement.

"That's not all," Seto continued. "Tyler found that one of the packets of blood was emptied and dumped in the trash can, hidden from plain sight underneath a pile of tissues." He showed them that picture as well. "Put these two clues together and you'll see what I'm getting at here."

"The gurney must have been used to transport Jerome's body to the pool," Ashley muttered.

"And the blood must have been used to fake the crime scene!" Bonks declared. "That's gotta be it!"

Seto nodded. "That's exactly why I think the killer moved Jerome's body to the pool."

Tyler suddenly looked hesitant. "But... there's just one problem..."

"What do you mean?" Seto asked.

"...You know how the infirmary logs the name of whoever enters?"

"Yeah?"

Tyler gulped. "W-Well, I checked the logger, and..." He used his e-Handbook to present them all a photo of a screen.

_SETO. ENTERED 7:34 AM ON DAY 9._

_JEROME. ENTERED 4:09 AM ON DAY 9._

_JEROME. ENTERED 3:17 AM ON DAY 9._

"The first one was when I entered the infirmary during the investigation," Seto explained. "But the other ones... Logically, they should say the killer's name..."

"I'm not seeing things, right? Why does it say _Jerome_ entered last night?!" Bodil asked, bewildered.

"I'm confused now..." Annie said, staring at her e-Handbook and tilting it in all sorts of angles, as though the image would change if she did so.

"Why didn't you show us this earlier?" Husky demanded.

"I- I don't know, I just didn't know what to make of it!" Tyler replied hysterically. "I thought maybe there was a glitch in the system or something!"

"That's unlikely though..." Jordan murmured.

"Agh, just when things were finally starting to make sense!" Ashley cried out.

It was here that Dave smacked his fists against the podium stand, gaining everyone's attention.

"Dave? What is it?" Steven asked, confused.

Dave grabbed Steven's hand and uncurled his fingers so that his palm was facing upwards. The zombie then reached into his pocket and pulled out something before placing it carefully in Steven's palm. Steven looked at what Dave had given him before holding out his hand for everyone to see. On his palm were several paper-thin shards of a plastic object.

"It looks like a sliced-up credit card," Husky blurted out.

"I think you meant, 'sliced-up e-Handbook'," Annie corrected.

"Y-Yeah! That's what I meant to say!"

"That's got to be what's left of Jerome's e-Handbook," Jordan mused. "No one lost theirs, right?"

"But how'd it end up like this?" Bonks asked.

"Well, the killer did have a sword at their disposal..." Ashley pointed out.

"But it had to be Jerome himself who used the e-Handbook and not the killer posing as him, right?" Jason questioned. "After all, didn't MonoWither give us that rule stating we couldn't use another person's e-Handbook or else we'd get punished?"

"The rule said that _participants_ couldn't use each other e-Handbooks..." Ryan muttered. "But Bart and Dave aren't participants, right? Maybe _they_ posed as Jerome and used his e-Handbook to enter the infirmary!"

Steven turned a ghostly shade of white. "They wouldn't do something like that! They would never kill Jerome! How dare you say something like that?! _How dare you!_ "

Bart placed a hand on Steven's trembling shoulder, silently indicating that Ryan wasn't in his right mind and that it wasn't worth getting upset about.

"I'm not saying _they_ killed Jerome, I'm saying _you_ did!" Ryan yelled. "There's no reason why Jerome would enter the infirmary before he died! Plus, we never found his e-Handbook in his pocket, right? That means the killer must have found some way to pose as Jerome, and the only possible way would be if a nonparticipant used his handbook! You could have ordered Bart and Dave to do it for you!"

Steven looked positively horrified. "F-First of all, I don't order them around! They're my friends! Second of all, I'm not the killer! There's gotta be some other explanation for Jerome's name being there!"

"Oh yeah? Then how did Dave get those remains of Jerome's e-Handbook in the first place? Don't tell me he just found them lying around somewhere!"

Dave's withering look indicated that that was exactly what had happened.

"Um, Dave? Where'd you find these?" Steven asked.

Dave grabbed Steven's e-Handbook and typed something on it rapidly before presenting his note to everybody.

_POOL AREA TRASH CAN_

"Yeah? Well how are you going to prove that's what happened?!" Ryan asked. "Bart and Dave are the only nonparticipants who could have posed as Jerome! You must be the culprit!"

"I didn't kill Jerome!" Steven retorted.

"Likely story!" Ryan yelled back.

 _"Cut, CUT!"_ MonoWither suddenly shrieked, silencing everyone. "Excuse me participants, a moment of your time! There's actually another loophole to this rule! You see, technically a dead person isn't a participant anymore, right? So if you used one of their e-Handbooks, it wouldn't break the rule! But we're so upset the killer chose to destroy the e-Handbook afterwards to confuse you all... Do they realize how much each one is worth? Geez, how insensitive to our feelings... But we guess it can't be helped..."

"So, the killer _could_ have used Jerome's e-Handbook, as long as Jerome was already dead," Seto murmured.

"And I'm not the killer, right?" Steven asked.

"Well no, there's still no proof you didn't do it..." Ryan muttered. "But we've still only eliminated Seto, Bonks, Jason, and Tyler..."

"However, we now know the approximate time of death, which was much earlier than 5 am, and that the location _was_ hidden by the MonoWither File." Seto cleared his throat and placed his hands on the podium stand. "All right, so at 3:17 the killer entered the infirmary, took out a gurney, rolled it to wherever Jerome's body was, and used it to transport the body to the pool. They also took a packet of blood and used it to make it seem like Jerome had died there. At 4:09, approximately an hour later, the killer returned to the infirmary to return the gurney and dispose of the blood packet."

"But where did Jerome die then, if it wasn't by the pool?" Ashley asked.

"I think it was on the first floor," Seto murmured.

"What makes you say that?" Jordan questioned.

"The gurney the killer used was one that had special wheels enabling it to move up and down stairs," Seto replied. "The killer must have chosen that gurney for a reason. If Jerome had died on the second floor, it would have been easier for the killer to use a regular one."

"But where exactly could Jerome have died on the first floor?" Annie inquired.

"Yeah, we searched everywhere!" Jason declared.

"There would have had been a place with a bunch of blood, and there's no way the killer could have hidden that!" Ashley asserted. "...Right?"

"Yeah Ashley..." Bodil replied. "There's no way the killer could have hidden something like that..."

"Did we somehow miss something when we were searching?" Steven asked timidly.

_I think there's one place that no one thought to check..._

**1\. Cafeteria**   
**2\. Bathrooms**   
**>** **_3\. Bedrooms_ **

"Did anyone check the bedrooms?" Seto asked.

"Uh..." Jason said, trailing off.

Annie's eyes widened. "Well..."

"No, I don't think so..." Bodil said awkwardly.

"So Jerome must have gone to the killer's bedroom, where the killer stabbed them to death!" Ashley said. "...Right?"

"That must be what happened..." Steven reasoned.

"But then who did it?" Tyler asked.

Seto bit his lip, connecting all the facts together. He felt like he'd finally come to a conclusion. But was this the right choice? Because if he was right... if this person was truly the killer... then that meant...

No, he couldn't afford to keep on hesitating... He couldn't keep ignoring this hunch.

"...Ryan?" Seto asked, staring at the SDML Warden.

The man in question turned to face him. "What?" he grunted in annoyance.

"...Tell us the truth. Did you really see Jerome leave the room in the middle of the night?"

A strange look crossed Ryan's face. "What- What the hell are you talking about? Of course I did! Why the hell would I lie about something like that!" Ryan shouted. Then his blue eyes widened. "Don't tell me... Are you accusing me of being the killer?!"

"Ryan and Jerome were close..." Bonks whispered. "Seto... I don't think Ryan would do something like this..."

Seto bit his lip. "I've... been thinking about this for awhile... I didn't want to believe it either... But I can't ignore all the signs. First of all, Ryan, your behavior's been weird this whole time."

"Excuse me?!" Ryan thundered, clenching his hand tightly into a fist.

"You've been accusing every possible person for the most baseless of reasons," Seto pointed out. "Even for you, that's... unusual..."

"Well I'm not letting the killer get away with what they did to Jerome!" Ryan countered. "I'm doing all I can to catch the killer! Don't like my methods? Well too bad! That's not concrete proof that I'm the killer!"

"He's right, it's really not," Jordan murmured.

Seto sighed. "I know that's not proof at all, but that's not all I've noticed. The second thing is the fact that if Jerome was killed on the first floor, and the killer transported him up to the pool, the killer must have had a lot of upper-body strength to push the gurney around, especially up the stairs. Plus, Jerome was a bacca, and his dead body would have been even heavier and harder to transport. I can't think of anyone else who would have had the strength to do all that except for you."

Ryan's face paled. "W-Well..."

"Ryan _is_ really strong..." Bodil admitted reluctantly.

"But is that really enough proof?" Husky asked. "Could someone else have been able to do it?"

Ryan's eyebrows furrowed in determination. "Yeah! For all we know, Seto could have used his magic to push the gurney!"

"But I can't be the killer, Ryan!" Seto retorted. "You see what I mean? You keep irrationally accusing other people! It's almost like you're trying to confuse us on purpose!"

"That still isn't proof, dumbass!" Ryan shouted. "If anything, _you're_ accusing me for baseless reasons! Do you think this is going to somehow magically prove I'm the killer?"

"Tell me who else could have transported Jerome's body around like that," Seto demanded. "Please. I can't think of anyone else who'd be able to do this other than you and me, and there's proof that I didn't do it because of my alibi."

"Shut up you fucking asshole!" Ryan shrieked.

"Seto, where's this all coming from?" Jason asked, horrified. "Why are you suddenly accusing Ryan of all this?"

"The main reason why I've been suspecting Ryan for awhile is because he seemed really out of breath," Seto said, turning to face the man in question. "Ryan, when you told us you'd found the body, it seemed like you were exhausted. Maybe you were panicking because you had just seen the dead body of your friend. Or maybe it was because of the extensive labor you went through to cover up your crime."

The pulsating vein on Ryan's temple looked like it was about to burst. Seto continued on, relentless.

"First you woke up Jerome in the middle of the night and led him to your room, where you took him by surprise and stabbed him to death. Then you went up to the second floor, entered the infirmary, and wheeled out a gurney. You pushed the gurney down the stairs, all the way to your room where Jerome's body was. Then you hauled Jerome's body on top of the gurney, rolled him out of your room, pushed him up the stairs, then dumped his body in the pool. You then went back to the infirmary to return the gurney. Night Time was almost over, so you woke up Mitch in order to 'search' for Jerome's body. Mitch found the body much later after searching the whole first floor for him. Then you ran all the way back down to the cafeteria to give us the news. After doing all this, you were exhausted, sweaty, and out of breath. You tried to make it seem like you were panicking, but no one else was as physically worn out as you."

"That... That's not proof at all you bastard..." Ryan cursed. "You dumbass! Are you trying to get us all killed?!"

"Ryan, just give him proof!" Annie snapped. "If you really aren't the killer, then just prove it and he'll stop!"

"Ryan, did you lie to us?" Seto asked as calmly as he could. "Did you make up the story of how you saw Jerome leave the room by himself? It's the only thing that doesn't add up with what we've found. Without a letter, Jerome would have no reason to trust someone and go to their room in the middle of the night. But... if _you_ asked him to, he could very well have trusted you. Therefore, it's likely that you lied about seeing him leaving the room..."

The SDML Warden remained silent, gritting his teeth as he trembled violently.

"Ryan, say something!" Husky yelled.

Ryan looked like he was ready to pummel Seto to a bloody pulp. Then all of a sudden his rage simmered down and the fire from his blue eyes froze into a cold, deadly glare. "...Hehe... Hehehe..." he laughed unstably under his breath.

"R-Ryan?!" Steven stammered, suddenly terrified.

"You want proof? Huh? You want proof, don't you?" Ryan asked, still laughing quietly in between his sentences.

"What in the- What's gotten into you?!" Tyler demanded, equally afraid.

"You and your proof," Ryan continued spitefully, not hearing anyone's words. He was speaking through his clenched teeth. "Proof, proof, proof. Oh, I'm sick of that word. I don't have any, all right? But that doesn't mean I'm the killer. Has it ever crossed your little mind that maybe the killer used a **Potion of Strength** from the infirmary? Maybe that's why they were able to transport Jerome's body without getting so tired. Ever thought of that?!"

**> >>-INFIRMARY-STATUS-** **>** **((POTION OF STRENGTH))**

"But no Potions of Strength were taken from the infirmary, or any potions for that matter," Seto replied. "I checked, and the number was the same. The killer couldn't have used a Potion of Strength. You're still the only person who could have done this."

Ryan snorted. "Oh yeah? Well, what about if the killer had an ally to help them, huh? Ever thought of _that_?!"

"Then we would have two exhausted people, and not just one."

Ryan glanced around, staring at everyone in the courtroom pleadingly. "C-Come on guys, help me out here!" he shouted, a tinge of desperation seeping into his voice. "Don't any of you guys have something to back me up?"

The only answer he received was only a horrified, stunned silence.

Ryan snarled as he punched the podium stand, his fury engulfing him once more. "You idiots! All of you! Don't you see? I'm not the killer! Why would I kill Jerome?! Jerome and I were close friends! I would never sacrifice him to get out of here! I wouldn't sacrifice any of you! If you vote for me, you're all going to die, you hear?!"

No one could say a single word.

Seto merely stared at Ryan, filled with remorse. Why did he have to do this again? Why? "Ryan, stop. I've got two more pieces of evidence that proves you did this."

"What, huh?" Ryan growled. "What more do you have?"

Seto turned to face MonoWither, who was still on their throne. "MonoWither, I'd like to ask you something."

"Oh? What does Seto-senpai want from us?" MonoWither asked, tilting their heads in interest. "Could you be asking for our nonexistent hands in marriage? Then we accept-!"

"Last time, when Jade was murdered, I saw the body first," Seto said, cutting them off. "But the body discovery announcement rang only when Annie and Ashley appeared. Is there a certain amount of people needed in order for the body discovery announcement to ring?"

MonoWither grinned. "Good question Seto! Yes, three people must find the body in order for us to sound the alarm!"

"Then I'm assuming that the killer doesn't count as someone who 'discovers' a body, correct?"

"Correct once again, Seto!" MonoWither replied. "Anything else? Wanna continue with that marriage proposal-"

Seto turned back to the circle. "Assuming Ryan wasn't the killer, then he and Mitch would have been the first two people to have discovered Jerome's body. But when I got there before the rest of the people did, the body discovery announcement didn't ring. There can only be one explanation for this. Ryan, got anything to object to?"

Ryan seethed as he breathed heavily, not saying a word. "That doesn't mean a damn thing..." he whispered. "That doesn't mean a damn thing at all... I **didn't do anything**..."

**> >>-HANDWRITING-** **>** **((DIDN'T DO ANYTHING))**

"There is one thing that can either prove or disprove you did this, Ryan," Seto said. "Look at the letter. If we can match the handwriting with yours, then this seals the deal."

"No you can't!" Ryan yelled. "I can write something for you right now-"

Seto shook his head. "You could be faking it. Do you have something you've written prior to this?"

"Oh, oh! We do!" MonoWither declared proudly. "Ryan here wrote down his whole planned exercise workout in his notebook! Somehow we had a feeling this could come into play... Anyway, here you go Seto!"

MonoWither flew over and dropped the notebook in Seto's hand. Seto opened the notebook and turned to the mentioned page before holding it up next to the letter, scanning both carefully. "...it matches. Everyone can check for themselves." He offered the papers to Husky, who examined them before passing them on to the next person. "Does everyone agree with me? Anyone who disagrees?"

There was only silence.

"...Ryan? Got anything left to say? If... If I'm wrong about this, then... you'd better explain how..." Seto whispered. "I don't want to believe you'd kill Jerome... I really don't..."

Ryan had closed his eyes. A strange calm had settled over the man as he stood there, hunched over slightly. "You're a fucking idiot... I'm not the killer... I'm not the killer you bastard! I'm not! I'm not and I'll say it a million fucking times until it gets into your stupid head! _I'M NOT THE FUCKING KILLER!_ "

"Really?"

Ryan began to breath heavily. "Of course... You really think I'm that heartless? That I'd kill Jerome? Well you're fucking wrong! Jerome was my friend! Do you have any fucking idea how much Jerome meant to me?! Do you?! I'm not the goddamn killer! How many times to I have to repeat myself?! HOW MANY GODDAMN TIMES?!"

"...Repeating yourself won't change our opinions," Seto murmured. "Unless you can think of something to prove yourself, our verdict is done here."

"I DON'T NEED ANY FUCKING PROOF I'M NOT THE KILLER! IT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T ME AND I'LL SAY IT AS MANY TIMES AS I NEED TO! I'M! NOT! THE! KILLER!" Wild panic filled Ryan's blue eyes as he stared at the sorcerer, panting heavily as he struggled to catch his breath. His exhaustion had returned. "I... I'm not... the killer... I'm not..." Then he bowed his head, released a long sigh of resignation, and stayed like that for awhile before he began to laugh quietly once more. "Well... Guess that's it then. You want proof? I... I can't... think of any more defenses..." he whispered, raising his head to meet Seto's eyes. "You... You got me... You really got me..."

"So... you admit you killed Jerome?" Seto asked, his voice hollow with pain.

Ryan smiled bitterly. "There's nothing left for me to say, is there? Haha... Hahaha... And here I thought I was going to get away with it... I thought my friendship with Jerome would be enough to convince you guys I didn't do it... Guess I was wrong, huh? I took a shot, and I missed by a landslide..." He turned his gaze to stare at Mitch, who was now trembling violently, his unblinking eyes still as wide as saucers. "...Mitch?"

For a few moment, Mitch hyperventilated loudly as he stood there, rooted on the spot. Then his eyes suddenly rolled back in his head as he fell backwards and collapsed spread-eagled to the floor, the sound of impact echoing across the courtroom like a gavel striking a sound block.


	22. Prison of Lies

_I can't believe it... After all this time... We finally caught the true killer, the true culprit..._

_...right?_

"Oh my god, Mitch!" Husky yelled as he ran over to Mitch's body, kneeling down beside the fallen man. "He... He's okay! He didn't hurt his head! He just... fainted... and now he's unconscious..." Husky trailed off, the relief of the moment giving way to sorrowful pity.

"Upupupu!" MonoWither said, twirling with delight above their throne. "Don't worry about Mitch! After realizing what Ryan just did, it must have been too much for him! We'll just ignore his lack of a vote. Anyway, we guess it's finally time for the end of this Show Trial! Please use the lever in front of you and cast your vote! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?!"

Ryan was trembling where he stood. "Sh-Shit..." he whispered, as though realizing his imminent fate. "Shit, shit, shit..."

"So _now_ you regret it, huh?" Annie asked, anger boiling in her voice. "Only now, after you've been caught..."

Ryan grit his teeth. "Shut the fuck up!"

Annie glared at him, her green eyes staring pitilessly at the man.

"Why did you kill Jerome, out of all people?" Jordan demanded. "I just don't understand your motive."

Ryan clenched his fists. "I don't think that's important now."

"Of course it's important!" Jason yelled, his eyes betraying the anguish he felt inside. "We deserve to know!"

"Why would you do something like this?!" Bodil asked hysterically.

'You want to know why I did it? You really want to know? Well it's because I've been trapped in this goddamn place for far too long! I needed out! I couldn't stand it in this place any longer! I couldn't stand wondering if I'd be the one to die next..."

"But why Jerome? It doesn't make any sense..." Tyler whispered. "Jerome, he- he trusted you..."

"He did, huh?" Ryan asked in a hollow voice. He laughed before smiling bitterly. "Well, that just made things easier for me..."

"Easier for you?" Bonks asked, horrified.

"What the hell's gotten into you, Ryan?!" Husky shouted angrily, still kneeling beside Mitch. "Why are you acting so... so... _heartless_ all of a sudden?!"

Ryan pursed his lips together, his blue eyes flashing dangerously as he remained silent.

"JUST ANSWER US FOR GOD'S SAKE!" Tyler yelled.

"Because Jerome was an _idiot_!" Ryan shrieked, his voice echoing across the courtroom. There was silence as he breathed heavily. "From... From the very beginning, I had him as my target! I knew he trusted me, and I used that to my advantage! The dumbass didn't suspect a thing! And now he's dead because I killed him!"

Steven shook his head, backing into Bart and Dave. "You... You really don't regret it at all, do you?" Steven asked, staring at him in terror.

"Well _now_ I do..." Ryan muttered. "I thought I could actually go through with it, but I guess not..."

"I'm sick and tired of hearing all this," Ashley muttered. "We're just wasting time. There's no point in asking anymore. He's confessed. It's over."

"Agreed!" Annie declared, hand grasping the lever. "Let's get on with the vote and get rid of this selfish monster!"

 _Wait_ _... Calm down and think for a moment... Is this the right choice? Did Ryan... really..._?

"Hold on..." Seto said quietly. No one heard him.

"That's perfectly fine with me," Husky said icily, standing up and returning to his stand to vote.

 _...Is this really the right thing to do_?

"I never knew you could be such a coward, Ryan..." Tyler muttered. "I thought... you were better than this..."

"HOLD ON A SECOND!" Seto shrieked desperately. "DON'T VOTE YET!"

Everyone halted as they turned to stare at him. "What's wrong, Seto?" Jordan asked.

Seto turned to Ryan, who was staring at him with a mixture of confusion and apprehension. "Ryan, did you really kill Jerome?"

Ryan's blue eyes widened. "Wh-Why are you asking that?"

"Did you?" Seto repeated.

"Seto, he already admitted it himself..." Bonks murmured.

"Exactly!" Ryan said, seemingly recollecting his thoughts. "Why would I lie about something like this? Also, weren't you the one who kept accusing me? Weren't you the one who caught me?!"

"Yes, but... The more I think about it, there's just one thing I don't understand," Seto said. "Well, actually three things. First of all, why didn't you kill Mitch as well? All three of you were sharing the same room, right? Why didn't you kill him while he was sleeping? It would have been simple enough, right?"

"Well- Well- Well then that'd be too obvious, _dumbass_!" Ryan retorted. "Mitch and Jerome both end up dead while I'm still alive? That'd be way too suspicious! Besides, Mitch didn't suspect a thing! I expected that he'd defend me during the trial, I didn't realize once he saw the body he'd turn out like... that..."

Seto pursed his lips tightly. "...hmm. Another thing: Did the motive have anything to do with this?"

"What the- What the hell is your point?" Ryan asked.

"It seems strange that you only struck after MonoWither introduced the motive, right? If you'd really been targeting Jerome all along, then why did MonoWither feel the need to give us a motive? They'd only do that if no one was planning anything..."

Ryan's back tensed with apprehension. "So- So what if the motive did?!"

"Care to tell us that secret of yours?"

Ryan scoffed. "You really think I'd do that? Come on, Seto. You're one to talk, considering what _you_ tried to do with Bonks because of the motive. Why don't _you_ tell us your secret?"

Seto flinched and his face went pale. "I... Well..."

"Besides, why would I tell you guys my secret if Jerome died for it? It'd seem pretty pointless, right? I fully intend to take this secret to my grave..."

"Is that all, Seto?" Annie asked, her hand still clenching onto the lever.

Seto collected himself and took a deep breath. "One last thing, and then I'll let us vote." Seto turned back to Ryan, who looked utterly confused. "Ryan, if you really killed Jerome as you claim, then...

_"... how did you wash off the blood?"_

There was a stunned silence as everyone processed what Seto had just asked. "I- I-" Ryan stammered, his eyes darting back and forth.

"Couldn't Ryan have just washed it off like Sky did?" Steven asked hesitantly.

"He couldn't have," Seto replied. "After Jerome's murder, we know that he didn't go back to his room- at least not after 7:00, when the water turns on. We know this because he ran to the cafeteria to 'inform' us that there was a body. If someone had seen him leave his room before telling us about Jerome, then Ryan would have immediately been caught. Thus, he would have had to enter the cafeteria coming from the pool, and not from anywhere else."

"What's your point?" Ashley asked. "I'm sort of confused where you're going with this."

"Yeah!" Ryan shouted. "What the hell are you talking about? I already confessed, didn't I?"

"My point is that you couldn't have washed off the blood in your room, since you weren't there after 7:00. The pool is also out of the question, since it had Jerome's blood in it. The nearest bathrooms are on the first floor, and we would have seen you coming out of there. Finally, there was not enough time for you to use the showers after the water turned on, because soon after Night Time ended you came running to the cafeteria."

"That doesn't mean anything!" Ryan yelled frantically.

"Then can you at least tell us how you got rid of the blood on your clothes?" Seto asked.

"I didn't need to!" Ryan declared. "It was a clean stab-"

"It was a stab in the chest area. A 'clean stab' is impossible, and I highly doubt you didn't get any blood on your clothes," Seto countered.

"Why do I have to tell you anything?" Ryan demanded angrily. "It doesn't change the fact that I'm the only one who could have murdered Jerome!"

"I know emotions shouldn't factor into the trial, but... shouldn't you be glad that for some reason Seto's trying to defend you?" Tyler asked, perplexed.

"I'm just tired of this being dragged out for so long! Come on, let's just start the vote already!" Ryan insisted.

"You seem rather persistent in getting that vote out of the way, don't you?" Seto pointed out.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ryan yelled, smashing his fists against the podium stand. "I don't know what the fuck you think you're doing, but just stop! I'm the only one who could have murdered Jerome! Who cares about the blood? That doesn't matter! It's not like there's any other suspects, is there?"

"There's someone here whose clothes have been stained with Jerome's blood this entire time," Seto replied. "He's also soaked with water. Maybe someone tried to wash it off for him..."

Ryan's face paled in horror. Bewilderment filled the room as everyone looked around, completely clueless as to what Seto was saying. Gradually, with sickening realization, the feeling turned to shock and disbelief as everyone's eyes eventually settled on the person Seto was referring to. Said person was still out for the count, unaware of what was going on.

"Seto, you can't possibly be saying..." Bonks whispered, trailing off.

"There's no way Mitch would have killed Jerome!" Jason yelled, shaking his head. "There's absolutely no way!"

"Are you out of your mind, Seto?!" Husky shouted.

"Although I've accepted that anyone could be the murderer, even _I_ find that possibility hard to believe," Ashley admitted.

Seto gripped the podium stand tightly, pain flashing across his face. "I- I don't want to believe it either, but..."

"Why would Mitch do something like that to Jerome?" Annie asked quietly.

"Exactly... Mitch wouldn't kill him..." Bodil said, as though trying to convince himself.

Seto shut his eyes tightly. "But who else could it be? It can't be Ryan, right?"

Genuine desperation consumed Ryan's voice. "I already confessed, didn't I? Why would I put my life on the line for someone else?"

"You'd do it for Mitch," Seto argued.

"What kind of shitty game do you think you're playing?! Do you really think _Mitch_ would kill Jerome?!" Ryan shrieked.

"There's evidence that suggests he did it instead of you. No matter how crazy or awful it seems to me, I can't ignore something like that! Not when all our lives are at stake!" Seto countered.

" _I'm_ the one who killed Jerome! If you don't vote for me, you're all going to die! For fuck's sake, I tell you I'm not the killer and you don't believe me, and now I'm telling you I am the killer and you still don't believe me? Why the fuck won't you just believe me already?!"

"Then tell us how you got rid of the blood on your clothes!" Seto demanded. "Tell us the real reason why Mitch is the only one here with slight bloodstains and why he's soaking wet!"

"I told you, that doesn't matter! Mitch entered the pool to get Jerome's body, that's how he got the stains! Where the hell is your proof that Mitch killed him?! All the evidence points to me!"

"All the evidence someone tried to conceal the true identity of the murderer points to you," Seto corrected. "That doesn't mean you're the one who actually stabbed Jerome. You could very well have witnessed the murder and took action yourself. Do you, or anyone else for that matter, have anything to say against that?"

Ryan looked absolutely thunderstruck. His lips moved as he struggled to form words, but could not. Everyone else began to murmur amongst themselves, obviously disturbed by the possibility (which was growing more and more likely by the second, much to their horror) that Mitch had killed Jerome.

"Seto, what other proof do you have?" Steven asked, swallowing nervously.

Jordan tapped against the podium stand with agitation. "It _is_ a possibility that Mitch did it instead of Ryan, but... that seems too farfetched in my opinion. I can't think of any possible reason why Mitch would do that."

"Not even the motive seems like a reason for Mitch to kill _Jerome_ out of all people..." Husky whispered.

"Yeah, even _Ryan_ killing Jerome was too unbelievable..." Tyler said quietly. "Mitch killing Jerome just doesn't make sense..."

"You want to know how I got rid of the blood?" Ryan asked. "Fine then! Before putting Jerome's body in the pool, I **washed off** the blood using the water! My clothes dried, which is why they aren't wet anymore! Simple as that!"

"He would have had a time window of several hours. That's more than enough time for his clothes to dry..." Bonks murmured thoughtfully.

Seto shook his head. "No, that can't be right..."

**>** **>** **> -** **POOL-SMELL-** **> ** **((WASHED OFF))**

"We all know that swimming in the pool leaves a strong smell, unless you take a shower," Seto continued. "But Ryan doesn't smell like that at all, does he? And he never had the opportunity to use the shower during Night Time."

Ryan's shaky smile of confidence immediately shattered. "Well- Well I-" he stammered frantically.

"Mitch, on the other hand..." Seto murmured, staring at the unconscious man. "You said that he tried to enter the pool to pull out Jerome's body, but if that was true, then why did you stop him? If you were really the murderer, you'd _want_ the crime scene to be messed up. That was just a cover-up story, wasn't it? Just one of the lies you told to conceal the true identity of the killer..."

"N-No, that wasn't a lie..." Something akin to hope lit up in Ryan's eyes. "After all, there's no way I could have covered for Mitch like that!"

"Why not?" Jason asked.

"Because look at him! He's still wet!" Ryan yelled, pointing at the damp figure. "If I had washed the blood off of him, I would have had to do it **before** I put Jerome's body in the pool, right? But as you said earlier, that was hours before you guys found it! Mitch would have been dry by then!"

"Ryan, why do you keep defending Mitch?" Ashley asked. "It makes no sense, if you're the killer."

"SHUT UP!" Ryan yelled. "I'M DOING ONE LAST GODDAMN THING FOR YOU GUYS, ALL RIGHT?" He turned to Seto, smiling victoriously. "You can't refute me now, can you? Can you? Of course you can't! You know why? Because Mitch isn't the killer, I am, dumbass!"

Seto closed his eyes and sighed. "It's true that there's no way you could have washed Mitch _before_ Jerome's body was put in the pool..."

Relief washed over Ryan's face. "See! I've been telling you this whole time that I did it, not Mitch!"

**>** **>** **> -** **WET-** **BUCKET-** **> ** **((BEFORE))**

"...but you could have done it _afterwards_."

"Come on, that's impossible!" Ryan yelled. "You said it yourself! If I did that, the water would already have blood in it! You really think I'd wash Mitch with pool water containing Jerome's blood? That's fucking disgusting! Not even I would be that fucked up!"

"There's evidence that you did it afterwards, and no, not with water containing Jerome's blood. I noticed a bucket near the pool. It was still damp, indicating that it had been used recently. Before putting Jerome's body in the pool, you stored pool water in the bucket because you knew that the amount of blood on Mitch's clothes wouldn't be washed off so easily, so you dumped water over his head perhaps minutes before telling us about Jerome's body so that Mitch would have a cover story. Isn't that right, Ryan?"

Everyone waited for Ryan to come up with some other refutation, but once again he was forced into silence. The fear emanating from him was palpable.

"I think... I think _now_ we've covered just about everything... Just in case I missed something, I'll go over this case one more time," Seto said quietly, turning away from Ryan and taking a deep breath.

"During the night, Jerome, Ryan, and the killer stayed in the killer's room together. At first glance, this seemed perfectly normal for the three of them. However, with unfortunate consequences, Jerome did not expect the killer to strike at that moment. Taking Jerome by total surprise, the killer used a sword to stab him in the right side of his chest, fatally wounding him, before succumbing to emotional shock after the whole ordeal.

"Ryan, who witnessed the murder, assisted the catatonic killer by moving the body to the pool in order to make it seem like the murder had occurred there. First, he wrote a fake letter addressed to Jerome. Ryan wrote this to fool us, make us believe that Jerome had been killed by someone who'd revealed their secret to us. However, since the killer had wanted us to read the letter, they bought a pencil from the shop so that the letter could still be read even after the body was placed in the water.

"Next, he had to transport the body from the first floor to the second floor. However, since Jerome is a bacca and corpses are heavier than living bodies, he was too heavy for Ryan to carry. Thus, Ryan went to the infirmary in the second floor to get one of the special gurneys, which has wheels that are specifically made to easily transport patients up and down the stairs.

"The infirmary requires an e-Handbook for a person to gain access. It logs the name of the e-Handbook's owner and what time they entered. Ryan took Jerome's e-Handbook and used that instead of his own to confuse us. This did not violate the rules, because Jerome was already dead, and so it technically didn't qualify as using a participant's e-Handbook. He disposed of the e-Handbook after everything was finished.

"After entering the infirmary, he took out one of the gurneys and rolled it back down to the killer's room. With perhaps some difficulty, Ryan strapped Jerome on the gurney and wheeled him to the pool. He put the note in his pocket before putting the body in the pool. Ryan also left the sword used to kill Jerome on the pool deck. He then went back to the infirmary and took a packet of blood, splattering the blood into the pool in order to further convince us that Jerome had been killed there, but he failed to realize that he'd left behind evidence. He tried to conceal the packet of blood from plain sight by dumping it in the trash can and covering it up with balls of tissue, but it didn't work.

"Finally, as Ryan's last deceitful act, Ryan got the killer to follow him to the pool area, where he had saved a bucket of water before placing Jerome and the fake blood in the pool. This occurred just around the time Night Time ended at 7:00 am. He knew that he probably wouldn't be able to wash off all the blood from the killer's clothes due to the sheer amount, so he came up with a clever cover-up story in order to trick us into thinking the killer was innocent and had merely entered the pool after seeing Jerome's body there.

"After Night Time ended, Ryan left the killer in the pool area and ran down the stairs to the cafeteria where several of us were already eating breakfast. He lied to us and said that he and Mitch had found Jerome's body in the pool. However, the body discovery announcement didn't ring when I got there, despite the fact that I should have been the third person besides the killer to have seen the body.

"And yet, even when we found out that Ryan had misled us, we almost fell for his biggest trick of all...

"There is no doubt about it, no matter how unbelievable it seems. Ryan was not the one who killed Jerome, but was instead concealing the identity of the true killer, whose victim's blood still remains on his clothes. The reason why the killer would do something like this to his best friend is unclear, but this has to be the answer. The one who really killed Jerome wasn't Ryan... but instead was Mitch!"

There was a stunned silence as everyone processed Seto's conclusion.

"So Ryan was willing to sacrifice himself for Mitch's sake? That... was something I did not expect at all..." Ashley murmured.

"G-God..." Annie whispered, her eyes wide in horror. "This... This is the truth, isn't it? The one who killed Jerome wasn't Ryan... but actually Mitch?"

"If this is what really happened, then... Ryan saw the murder himself and was just trying to cover up for Mitch..." Jason said, stunned.

Tyler stared down at the floor. "Ryan tried to trick us all into voting for him so that Mitch would live instead... And we almost fell for it..."

"I- I can't believe it..." Husky whispered. "Why would Mitch... out of all people... kill Jerome?"

"Why is this happening?!" Bodil shrieked, panicking. "WHY?! WHYYY?!"

Seto lowered his voice, which began to quiver. "Ryan... if I got something wrong... tell me now."

Ryan flinched. "Where's your proof?!" he asked, trembling where he stood. "WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR PROOF?!"

"The proof that you didn't kill Jerome is that you never had bloodstains on your clothes," Seto replied.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ryan shrieked, clearly on the verge of losing his mind and beyond listening to reason. "I'M THE KILLER YOU FUCKING IDIOT!"

"Ryan, stop that!" Seto yelled, shutting his eyes tightly. "Do you think I _want_ to do this? Do you think I _want_ to accuse Mitch? Do you think I don't know what you're trying to do for him?"

"THE ONLY THING I KNOW IS THAT YOU'RE FUCKING STUPID!"

"I'm sorry Ryan... I'm so sorry..." Seto whispered. "But the proof is all there... And you haven't said anything that contradicts what I said..."

"STUPID STUPID STUPID _STUPID_!" Ryan shouted almost incoherently. "I'M THE KILLER! _I'M THE KILLER!_ "

"No you're not!" Seto shouted back. "Ryan, it's no use! We all know what the truth is!"

Ryan's face had turned red with fury. Seto could clearly see the veins bulging on his temples. "DO YOU HAVE ANY FUCKING PROOF I'M NOT THE KILLER?!" Ryan demanded. "HUH?! DO YOU?! YOUR WHOLE 'YOU NEVER HAD ANY BLOOD ON YOUR CLOTHES' THEORY IS BULLSHIT, I TELL YOU!"

Seto grit his teeth. This was it. He had to make his final argument, show the undeniable proof that Mitch was the killer and not Ryan... "The stab wound was on the right side of Jerome's chest," Seto began, shifting his gaze from Ryan to Mitch, who was still lying on the floor.

"I'M NOT FUCKING LISTENING!"

"The killer must have been facing Jerome before stabbing him there," Seto continued, turning back to face Ryan.

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE! JUST SHUT UP!"

"In order to stab Jerome in the right side of his chest..."

"I'VE TOLD YOU A MILLION FUCKING TIMES! **I'M THE ONE** WHO KILLED JEROME!"

**-LEFT-HANDED- ((I'M THE ONE))**

"...the killer must have been left-handed. And the last time I checked, Mitch is left-handed and you are not. In fact, he's the only one who's left-handed here. Everyone would know. Mitch told us himself."

Ryan's face paled and his hands began to tremble. "I'm... I'm the killer..." he whispered.

"There would have been no reason for you to grab the sword with your left hand and kill Jerome. Even if you just so happened to do that, the wound would not have been so deep since you wouldn't have been able to use as much force. Plus, the aim wouldn't have been so precise."

"I did it..." Ryan said quietly, his blue eyes as wide as saucers. "You idiot... You stupid idiot..." Ryan looked around, scanning the rest of the faces. "C-Come on guys... Don't any of you believe me?"

No one could look him in the eye.

Ryan took a shaky breath. "...Why? Why won't you believe me? I did it... I..." He suddenly clenched his fists and shook them angrily. "I'M THE KILLER, YOU HEAR ME?! I DID IT! IT WAS ME-"

"-That's enough."

Everyone was shocked to see Mitch stand up slowly, weakly holding onto the podium for support. There were tears sliding down his pale cheeks, but Seto noticed that his amber eyes did not look so empty anymore. They had hardened with resolve, but still held an aching pain inside.

"Mitch?" Ryan asked, horrified. "What the hell are you saying?"

"I said that's enough, Ryan," Mitch repeated, touching the back of his head and cringing in pain. "I appreciate you defending me, but..." He shut his eyes tightly, his face twisting with shame. "...there's nothing more you can do. I won't let you give up your life for a mistake _I_ made."

"N-No..." Ryan said quietly, shaking his head. "Mitch... you can't..."

Mitch's eyes glinted in the dim light of the courtroom. "It's time for me to face what I've done, Ryan. I'm sorry, but I have to do this. I'd never live with myself if everyone else was executed because of me." He turned to Seto and smiled grimly, his lips pressed tightly together. "Thank you, Seto. Thank you for figuring it out."

Seto did not reply. He was too stunned to speak. Even though he was the one who'd discovered the truth, it was still impossible to wrap his mind around and accept...

It was Husky who finally spoke up for the rest of the people, his voice faint with shock from all the events that had just perspired. "Mitch... did you really...?"

Mitch crossed his arms over his chest, staring mournfully at Jerome's portrait a few stands away. He wiped the tears from his eyes and released a long, shaky breath. "...It's true. I did it, not Ryan. _I'm_ the one who killed Jerome."


	23. Cornucopia Bloodbath

"Well, well, well, what a startling turn of events this was!" MonoWither said, giggling. "It appears that you've all reached an agreement as to who the _real_ killer is! That was a close one! Seto, you're lucky you were there to save all of them!"

Seto didn't feel "lucky" at all...

"Well then, we guess it's finally time for the _true_ ending of the second Show Trial! Please use the lever in front of you and cast your vote! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?!"

Once again, there was hesitation. Mitch was clearly remorseful, and it was hard to believe he'd actually killed Jerome on purpose. Was this the right thing to do? If they voted, then Mitch would be horribly executed just like Sky was. They'd essentially be killing another friend of theirs, an idea that no one wanted to think about even if said friend had killed another...

"What are you guys waiting for?" Mitch demanded, making everyone flinch. "Hurry up and finish it already!"

Ryan's face was as white as a ghost. "But- But Mitch-"

"I said 'finish it'!" Mitch yelled. "Stop wasting time and hurry up!"

One by one, everyone cast their vote. Once the final vote was in, a golden slot machine on a platform rose up in the center of the court circle. The three slots spun wildly, and Seto was only able to catch faint glimpses of the participants' pixelated faces. He noticed that now Sky and Jerome's faces were grayed-out as well. Finally, the slots came to a halt and stopped on Mitch's image. Confetti burst from the machine as the words "GUILTY" flashed on top of the machine.

"Well, this was certainly an unexpected outcome, but good job everyone! You voted correctly!" MonoWither said happily. "Yes indeed, the one who killed Jerome was his best friend Mitch, the Super Duper Hunger Games Champion, and _not_ Ryan!"

Mitch wiped his eyes and stared down at the floor.

"I- I-" Ryan stammered, tears running down his face. "I'm sorry, Mitch..."

"Ryan, enough already," Mitch murmured, closing his eyes. "I've already given up."

"But... why? Why would you kill _Jerome_?" Husky asked quietly, echoing everyone's thoughts.

"You two were so close..." Bonks remarked, still numb with shock.

Bodil nodded sadly. "You guys never left each other's side... So why would you kill him?"

"Don't tell me it was because you took advantage of the fact that he trusted you!" Annie shouted.

Mitch crossed his arms over his chest and released a long sigh. "I'd rather not say why; it doesn't matter anyway. Let's just get this over with. MonoWither, start the execution."

"No, Mitch!" Ryan yelled desperately, slamming his fists against the podium stand. "I still need to understand why you did it! Why did you kill Jerome?!"

"You don't know either?" Ashley asked, confused. "I thought you were there when the murder occurred..."

"I- I was, but even still..." Ryan turned to Mitch, a look of anguish on his face. "Why did you stab him like that?!"

Mitch grit his teeth and dug his fingernails into the sleeves of his checkered hoodie. "You want to know the reason why I killed Jerome? Huh? You want to know? It's because I'm a lying, cheating piece of shit who never deserved to be his friend in the first place!" His voice echoed throughout the courtroom, silencing everyone. Mitch swallowed and looked away, his face consumed with shame.

MonoWither cut in. "Since Mitch here is really awful at explaining stuff, we're going to explain it for you! This once again all had to do with the motive we gave you!"

"Motive? You mean the secrets?" Jason asked.

"Correct! You see, Mitch here has a terrible secret that he's never revealed to anybody! It was so horrible in his eyes that he didn't dare tell a soul. Nope, he didn't even tell Jerome, his closest friend! Why? Because if his secret was ever found out somehow, he'd lose everything! He'd lose all his fans, his reputation, and every single one of his friendships- even his friendship with Jerome!"

"It- It's that bad?" Steven asked, horrified.

Seto looked at Mitch, who was still refusing to meet their eyes.

"Well, we'll let you be the judge of that!" MonoWither replied. "Back to the story! Mitch hid this secret for years, hoping that he could keep it hidden forever, but then he signed up to participate in this exciting show and eventually realized that everything he cared about was at stake! Now, during the first motive he almost tried to end the show because of the people he saw in his video, but he didn't do it because of two people: Jerome and Ryan! If he ended the show, he'd have to sacrifice them in the process!

"But then along came the hateful and lovable MonoWither, who decided to dig deep into your pasts and find your darkest, most scandalous secrets! And when Mitch looked at his slip of paper, he was horrified to see that we'd hit the jackpot! You want to know what was written on there that was so awful? Well, here it is!"

 _"Mitch uses strength, endurance, and sensory enhancement potions to illegally win the Hunger_ _Games._ _"_

Mitch visibly flinched as though he'd been punched in the stomach. His face turned sickly pale with guilt and he clenched his fists tightly.

"Wh- What?" Tyler asked, bewildered. " _That's_ your secret?"

"So... all those matches Mitch won..." Bonks said, trailing off.

"He cheated in all of them!" MonoWither replied cheerily. "None of them were actual victories!"

"Mitch, you used enhancement drugs and never got caught?" Jordan asked. "You went that far?"

Mitch hesitated before nodding reluctantly. "Yes," he said faintly. "I suppose... I should tell you everything..."

* * *

"I started the first time Jerome and I played in a Hunger Games that wasn't local. It was a regional championship thing. I wanted to win so badly, but I didn't know how. The other tributes were so much stronger and better trained. And plus we were just 16 years old, although we'd managed to get into the championship somehow, just barely...

"Then some man approached us when no one was looking and said that he was selling something that would ensure one of us the title. Jerome said no, of course. I said no too, but the man gave us his business card anyway. Jerome went home and threw his in the trash. But... I didn't throw out mine...

"That night, I went out to meet the man. He was part of this secret group of... people. Some were sorcerers, and some were not. I don't even know the group's name. They created all sorts of weird potions, not just enhancement drugs, along with lots of magic stuff which I only know vaguely about. They sold them for lots of money on the black market..."

Seto's eyes dilated in horror when he heard this.

"A... secret group of people who sold magic potions?" Ashley asked, a strange look crossing her face. "Is that what you said?"

"Yeah... Anyway, they made me sign a contract and everything. I agreed pay them a percentage of my earnings per Hunger Games match. I didn't think much of it. I was young and stupid back then. Then they gave me the drugs and told me when to use them and how. They said that it would pass the drug tests, and they were right. I didn't even expect the potions to work so well, but as you all know, I ended up winning the thing. Everyone called me an underdog who managed to rise to the top. They didn't suspect anything illegal was going on, not even Jerome..." Mitch paused. "Jerome should have won that match, he managed to get second place without cheating at all. I ended up beating him at deathmatch..."

Ryan was staring at Mitch, stunned into silence.

"We started getting into more important Hunger Games matches after that, started becoming more famous. But I felt really bad. I thought about telling the truth sometimes, but..." Mitch swallowed. "If I did, I'd lose everything. No one would trust me anymore. My family would be ashamed of me. Jess would break up with me. All of you guys, you'd all avoid me. And Jerome would never ever speak to me again. After all, he was usually supposed to be the rightful victor in the Games...

"At one point I thought about quitting the Hunger Games, claiming that I was focusing on other things, and break the deal off. But then..." Mitch started gasping shakily. "But then I was afraid the group would reveal everything to the media, and I'd look even worse now that people knew I'd lied to cover up. P-Plus... I was afraid they would try to exact revenge somehow... I've heard rumors about what groups like that do to people who stop paying... But even still, it's quite cowardly how I couldn't just accept the consequences of my actions, isn't it?"

Seto hunched over his podium, sick nausea broiling in his stomach.

"So I continued. I never told anyone about it until today, but I know MonoWither's showing this to the public somehow. And if those videos aren't real, then my family and Jess are probably watching this too..." Mitch closed his eyes in deep remorse. "Well, that's the story of how Mitchell Hughes fucked up, lied, and cheated to get to where he was today. The end."

No one knew what to say. There was just too much despair...

"But... Why would you kill Jerome over something like _that_?" Ryan demanded. "The more I hear this, the more I don't understand, Mitch!"

Mitch looked anguished. "I didn't mean to kill him... I just didn't want him to know... I didn't want him to hate me... I panicked..."

"Wait, we're not done with the story!" MonoWither yelled. "Ahem! Anyway, Mitch was horrified when he realized that his secret wouldn't be a secret any longer if he didn't act fast! But he couldn't sacrifice his two best friends, despite the pressing motive. That was when he realized that there was a loophole in our rules! You see, we never mentioned how many killers were allowed! So, after a little encouragement from yours truly..." MonoWither winked and giggled, making Seto grit his teeth in anger. "...Mitch, out of pure desperation, came up with a plan!"

"I wanted the three of us to kill one person each," Mitch admitted quietly. "I bought swords and then told them I had something I wanted to say to them that night. It was a stupid idea, I don't know what I was thinking. It's not like Jerome or Ryan would have ever gone through with it..."

"Well we're announcing it right now: only one person can end the show and leave!" MonoWither declared. "Should multiple killers survive the trial, they will remain alive while the others perish, but the killing game will still continue with the few that are left! Also, one person can only kill up to two people, so don't try slaughtering everyone else so that you can avoid the trial! Anyway, Mitch told his two best friends his plan, but then... Ooh, why don't you see for yourself?"

The screen on the wall turned on to show a video recording with Mitch, Jerome, and Ryan.

* * *

 _"_ _Wait_ _,_ _Mitch_ _,_ _what_ _the_ _hell_ _are_ _you_ _saying_ _?"_ _Jerome_ _asked_ _,_ _horrified_ _and_ _stunned_ _._

 _"_ _You_ _want_ _us_ _to_ _kill_ _someone_ _?!"_ _Ryan_ _questioned_ _with_ _equal_ _dismay_ _._

 _Mitch_ _nodded_ _. "_ _If_ _we_ _each_ _kill_ _someone_ _,_ _then_ _we_ _can_ _all_ _get_ _out_ _of_ _here_ _."_

 _"_ _But_ _we'd_ _sacrifice_ _the_ _others_ _!"_ _Ryan_ _yelled_ _. "_ _We_ _can't_ _do_ _that_ _!"_

 _Mitch_ _looked_ _away_ _,_ _pain_ _flashing_ _across_ _his_ _face_ _,_ _before_ _his_ _amber_ _eyes_ _hardened_ _._ _"_ _We_ _have_ _to_ _."_

 _Jerome_ _burst_ _into_ _nervous_ _laughter_ _. "_ _Come_ _on_ _biggums_ _,_ _what's_ _gotten_ _into_ _you_ _?_ _Why_ _are_ _you_ _talking_ _about_ _killing the others_ _all_ _of_ _a_ _sudden?"_

 _"_ _It_ _doesn't_ _have_ _anything_ _to_ _do_ _with_ _that_ _motive_ _MonoWither_ _gave_ _us_ _,_ _right_ _?"_ _Ryan_ _asked_ _._

 _Mitch's_ _silence_ _answered_ _his_ _question_ _._

 _"Oh Mitch, I'm sure your_ _secret's_ _not_ that _bad!" Jerome said reassuringly_ _._

 _"Yeah, j_ _ust tell us! Everything will be fine!" Ryan added._

 _The two of them started walking towards Mitch, who quickly backed away from the two, shaking his head frantically. "You don't_ _understand-_ _I can't tell_ _anyone-_ _"_

_Ryan faltered, looking slightly hurt. "Don't you trust us?"_

_Mitch's amber eyes darted back and forth between the two. "Of course I do!"_

_"Then just tell us!" Jerome said, continuing to approach Mitch. "Come on_ _biggums_ _, it's probably not as bad as you think!"_

_Mitch backed into the wall, right next to the nightstand. "No, no I can't..." he whispered, looking like a deer in the headlights._

_"Why not?" Ryan asked from behind Jerome._

_Mitch felt his mind swirl around in a jumbled mess. He was so nauseous, it was a struggle not to throw up and pass out right then and there. "I'll- I'll lose_ _everything- I'll lose all of you-_ _"_

 _Jerome grinned at him. "Come on, stop_ _over-exaggerating_ _! We're best friends! I've known you since fourth grade! There's no way you could have done something that_ _bad-_ _"_

_Mitch felt something in his mind snap at that statement. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Mitch shrieked, pushing Jerome a few steps back._

_Jerome's eyes widened in shock. "..._ _Biggums_ _?"_

_"Mitch, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Ryan asked, disturbed._

_"SHUT UP! JUST GO AWAY! GET OUT!"_

_Jerome tried to calm him down. He stepped forward, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "Hell no, I'm not leaving you like this. Come on Mitch, you can tell me_ _anything-_ _"_

_"JUST GET OUT!"_

_Mitch didn't know what he was thinking. He could feel his heart pound in his chest like the ominous beating of a drum. He was consumed with panic and dread. He couldn't let Jerome know about his secret. He couldn't let anyone know no matter what..._

_Mitch felt as though he was falling down a dark chasm. There was an overwhelming sense of blind terror that only consumed him further as he plummeted closer and closer to the very bottom. Jerome's voice sounded very distant for some reason._

_Jerome touched Mitch's shoulder comfortingly, squeezing it a little. "I promise I won't get mad..." Jerome murmured. "Everything will be fine, Mitch."_

everything will be fine

_Mitch's stomach suddenly twisted into a tight knot and his mind went utterly blank._

everything will be fine

_He didn't even register his left hand grabbing the sword lying on the nightstand._

everything will be fine

everything will be fine

everything will be fine

 _When Mitch returned to his senses a few seconds later, the first thing he saw was Jerome staring at him with stunned betrayal. Jerome was trying to speak, but instead of coherent words, only rivulets of blood spilled from his lips. Mitch looked at Jerome with confusion, wondering what was wrong with him, before his eyes trailed down and noticed the sword that was plunged straight through the_ _bacca's_ _chest._

 _With a sickening jolt, Mitch realized that he was the one holding the sword._ _He gasped and let go of the_ _sword's_ _hilt_ _as_ _though_ _he'd_ _been_ _burned. Unable to steady himself, Jerome fell backwards and hit the floor._

_Ryan screamed in absolute horror and took several steps back when he saw the blade still embedded in Jerome's chest. "OH MY GOD!"_

_Mitch covered his mouth with his hands. "Oh- Oh_ _god-_ _" He rushed to Jerome's side, kneeling down next to him. "_ _Jerome-_ _Jerome I'm so_ _sorry-_ _"_

_Jerome coughed violently, sending more blood spilling from his mouth. "M- M- Mitch..." he spluttered, his dark eyes colored with disbelief and pain._

_Mitch_ _grabbed a nearby blanket_ _and pressed it against the wound, taking great care not to push the blade further into Jerome. "_ _Just-_ _Just stay calm!" Mitch exclaimed frantically, choking out an anguished sob. "We can save you, just stay calm! I can fix this, you're going to be fine..."_

 _"_ _S-Stay_ _here!" Ryan ordered, doing his best not to panic. "I'll go get heal_ _ing_ _potions in the infirmary!" He immediately rushed out of the room._

_Jerome struggled to speak. "Wh- Why... did... you..."_

_"I'm_ _sorry-_ _I'm so sorry_ _Jerome-_ _" Mitch said tearfully, apologetic words spewing from his lips. But all the apologies in the world wouldn't take back what he'd done... "I didn't mean to- I'm so_ _sorry-_ _I should have just told_ _you-_ _I'm so_ _sorry..._ _"_

 _Jerome blinked sluggishly and Mitch could feel the_ _bacca's_ _heartbeat slow down. "No no no no!" Mitch cried out in alarm, grabbing Jerome's paw like a lifeline. Jerome squeezed back with what little strength he had remaining. "Don't leave me! Please! I need you!" Mitch begged desperately. "You have to hang in there! Ryan's coming back soon, and he's going to save you! Just hang on for a few more minutes!"_

_Jerome's breaths had reduced to sharp gasps of pain. His eyes fixated on Mitch's rapidly blurring face. He tried to focus on Mitch's anguished words, but he was so very tired..._

_He smiled weakly. "B..._ _Biggums_ _..." he whispered, his voice rattling in his chest._

_"Yeah?" Mitch said, sniffling as he wiped the tears away._

_Jerome didn't have the strength to say anything more._ _His black eyes continued to stare at Mitch's face. They never left it for one second, not even when his body went limp and he took one last shuddering breath. His eyes widened as the life faded from them._

_Mitch felt Jerome's grip on his hand loosen. "No please..." Mitch whispered, shaking Jerome's unresponsive shoulder. "Jerome... Jerome please..." Mitch lowered his head and pressed his ear against his chest, straining to hear a pulse. There was only a cold empty silence._

_Mitch slowly removed the sword from Jerome's chest and placed it to the side. He took deep breaths, praying that this was just some stupid dream, but it wasn't. The reality was that Jerome, his best friend since childhood, was dead. And it was all his fault._

_"Come back!" he pleaded. "Come back Jerome!" Mitch wailed in pure anguish and hugged Jerome's body, not caring about the blood. It wasn't like it mattered anyway, he already had blood stained on his clothes after he stabbed him. "Don't go! Don't leave me! I'm sorry!" He sobbed irrevocably, clinging onto Jerome as though his life depended on it._

_Ryan returned with no healing potions whatsoever. He took one look at Jerome and knew. "So..._ _MonoWither_ _was right... It was too late..." he whispered in horror. "Wh- Why Mitch? Why did you do that to Jerome?"_

_Mitch didn't answer. His sobs had subsided, but he was still pressing his face in Jerome's fur._

_"ANSWER ME GODDAMN IT!" Ryan shrieked, running to Mitch and pulling him from Jerome. "WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?!" Mitch, still kneeling by the bacca, merely stared up at him with a vacant expression._ _"TELL ME!" Ryan said, shaking him. The young man remained completely unresponsive._

_"Shit. Shit this is bad," Ryan cursed shakily, running his hand through his hair. "This is a murder... This is a murder... Oh god, Mitch what are we going to do?! If the others find out, then you'll- you'll be-" He couldn't bring himself to say the word._

_Mitch still didn't respond. His face was now completely vacant_ _and_ _his_ _whole_ _mind_ _was_ _numb with shock._

 _Ryan looked around, trying to keep his breathing steady. He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Okay. Okay I think I know what to do. We're going to make_ _sure_ _no_ _one_ _finds_ _out_ _about_ _this_ _. You hear me?"_

_Silence._

_"I'm going to take that as a yes._ _Let-_ _Let's move Jerome to the pool first..."_

* * *

The clip ended at that point.

"I... I snapped," Mitch said, sniffling as he struggled not to break down into sobs. "I snapped and Jerome paid for it. Oh god, I wish I could take back everything..."

"Mitch..." Annie said in shock, not knowing what else to say.

Mitch wiped his eyes and his face darkened. "I... I don't want your pity," Mitch said coldly. "I don't want anyone's pity. All of this was my fault, and my fault alone. There's only way I can atone for my sins. MonoWither, let's get this execution started."

"Roger that!" MonoWither replied, grinning with anticipation.

"No!" Ryan cried out. "Mitch please! Don't leave us!"

"JUST SHUT UP!" Mitch screamed. "THIS IS WHAT I WANT, OKAY?! I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE!" Ryan's eyes widened and his face paled. Mitch stared at Ryan before shutting his eyes tightly, horrified by his sudden outburst. "I... I'm sorry Ryan... I appreciate you trying to save me, but... just get out of here without murdering someone. The same goes for the rest of you. If you must, then live here forever... But please don't let any more deaths happen..." Mitch looked around at everyone, his eyebrows raising when he saw the sympathy and sadness in everyone's expressions. "Come on, guys. Why on earth would you feel bad for me?"

"Because it's all MonoWither's fault!" Jason yelled.

"What? Not this nonsense again!" MonoWither complained. "Mitch stabbed Jerome because of his secret! Did we force him to stab Jerome? No!"

"Mitch wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for you!" Husky shouted angrily.

"Are you kidding us? We just led him in the right direction!"

Mitch bowed his head. "This isn't like Sky, everyone. I... I killed Jerome for an utterly selfish reason. It was an accident, but I killed Jerome only because I didn't want anyone to know my secret. I was too prideful, and... maybe I was jealous of him. Yes, MonoWither's motive was what lead me to do it, but... I didn't have to listen to them. I should have just told everyone my secret. I should have just faced the consequences for all the lies I've told, all the immoral things I've done. There's no one to blame but me."

"Upupu! Mitch has got it right! He's nailed it right on the head!" MonoWither said.

The sad thing was that no one could refute Mitch nor MonoWither, and yet none of them wanted Mitch to die. Mitch hadn't killed Jerome intentionally. He felt remorse for his actions. He had wanted to change, but was held back by his fear of losing his reputation, his pride, not to mention that mysterious group, and now he was going to pay the price with his death...

Bonks started to wail. "Why are you so cruel?! Why do you keep doing this to us?!"

"Because it's entertaining!" MonoWither explained. "The public just eats up all this drama! Now stop interrupting the execution! It's gonna happen anyway, whether you like it or not!"

Everyone glared at MonoWither with hatred and fear. Once again, they were helpless to stop the execution of their friend...

"No... No please... Don't leave me here..." Ryan whispered. "Please don't kill Mitch... Let me take his place... I'd give my life to trade places with him-"

"No can do, Ryan! Don't you remember what I said when Tyler tried to do the same thing! You tried to frame yourself and you failed! Now suffer the consequences!"

Ryan suddenly burst into hopeless sobs and looked away. It was the first time Seto had ever seen Ryan have an emotional outburst as strong as this. Mitch stared at him sadly. "Ryan, it'll be okay. It's not your fault. I don't even know why you tried to save me in the first place, but I couldn't live with myself if you all died instead of me. So don't blame yourself, all right? Just live, and don't lose hope."

"Now then, we've prepared a very special punishment for Mitch-"

"N-No, wait Mitch!" Ryan cried out, reaching his hand out to his friend. "I still need to tell you..."

"Tell me what?" Mitch asked, confused.

Panic and desperation flashed across Ryan's face. "My- My secret- it has to do with you-"

"Oh who cares about that, Ryan?" MonoWither snapped. "Mitch has more important things on his mind than what your little secret is! Come on, do you really think he wants to know?"

"Of course I do," Mitch said, bewildered. "Ryan, what do you want to tell me?"

But Ryan, taking MonoWither's statement to heart, merely shook his head in resignation as his sobs of anguish echoed throughout the courtroom. Seto watched him, filled with sympathy for him and hatred for MonoWither...

"Okay, are we done with the interruptions? Finally! Now then, as we were saying before, we've prepared a very special punishment for Mitch, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Hunger Games Champion! But, well, we guess that title's a lie, huh? Maybe a more fitting one would be 'Super Duper Minecrafter Level Hunger Games _Cheater_ , eh? Well you know how the saying goes..." MonoWither grinned devilishly as a red button rose up in front of them and a claw by the wall lifted a gavel into the air. _"Cheaters never prosper."_

Mitch turned around to see a door swing open, revealing a hallway entrance that was still blocked by a gate. With remarkable calmness, he walked over to it. "Tell us Mitch, are you ready to face Jerome in the afterlife?" MonoWither asked tauntingly. "We're sure he's got a lot to say to you! Have you rehearsed your lines? Have you prepared yourself for the hatred and anger you're sure to receive from him?"

Mitch stopped and turned around, a sad smile on his face. "Oh, that's not going to happen. Jerome's gone to heaven. I'm afraid I'm going the other way."

"Hahaha! Good answer!" MonoWither cackled heartily, their red eyes gleaming as they swung the gavel down on the red button. Seto watched as the gate opened and Mitch walked onwards to his fate.

* * *

**Execution Music:<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fltyMA4IgM>**

**SHOW'S** **OVER** **:** **MITCH** **HAS** **BEEN** **FOUND** **GUILTY** **.** **TIME** **FOR** **THE** **PUNISHMENT** **!**

The camera showed Mitch standing in a dark tube. The only source of light was from the hole above him as his platform slowly rose up through the ground. When it reached the surface, Mitch had to shield his eyes to adjust to the sunlight. He blinked rapidly and squinted before lowering his hand.

Mitch was standing in an arena- a Hunger Games arena, to be exact- which was surrounded by a forest. Mitch looked around, noticing that the other tributes were automatons. Some of them were masculine in appearance, had brown "skin", and wore turquoise shirts and indigo pants. Others were more feminine in appearance with orange "hair" that wore green shirts and brown pants. All of them were fanged, had sharp claws, and had red left eyes that looked similar to the ones on MonoWither.

Some of the tributes were blocked from Mitch's sight by a giant Cornucopia in the center. Inside the Cornucopia sat a bunch of chests, their contents unknown. Seto assumed that they had deadly weapons that they would actually draw blood, unlike the Hunger Games that Mitch and Jerome normally participated in.

This was an execution, after all.

A counter on top of the Cornucopia flashed the number 10.

_10... 9... 8..._

Mitch began to hyperventilate noticeably. His amber eyes filled with fear and his muscles tensed as he processed the situation. Although he'd been wholly accepting of his death, the fact that he was going to die still terrified him...

_7... 6... 5..._

Seto briefly wondered if Jerome was watching Mitch right now. If he was, did he want Mitch to survive? Or was he angry at Mitch and just waiting for him to meet his deserved fate?

_4..._

No, Jerome wouldn't think that. He was too good-natured. Too forgiving.

_3..._

Mitch appeared to swallow down his fear and poised on the plate, preparing to run as fast as possible. The 23 other lifeless automatons did the same.

Ryan, watching the screen with rapt attention, started to whimper loudly.

_2..._

Mitch stared at the Cornucopia and licked his dry lips. As he focused on his destination, he suddenly felt a familiar presence. It sent chills racing up his spine, but at the same time he felt reassured. Determination swelled up inside of him. If he was going down, he wasn't going down without a fight.

_1..._

The remaining 11 participants watched with abated breath, all wondering if somehow this execution would turn out differently...

_0._

Immediately, Mitch leapt off his plate and sprinted to the Cornucopia. The other tributes did the same, but Mitch got there first. He opened the nearest chest and pulled out a diamond sword before turning to the left and stabbing an automaton, who had been lunging at him with its sharp claws. Mitch kicked the automaton off his sword and immediately sliced off the head of another one, who also had a diamond sword.

It occurred to Seto that every weapon in the Cornucopia was probably crafted with diamonds. A normal Hunger Games match lasted for hours, but MonoWither wouldn't want this execution to last for that long.

Spurred on by an unfounded motivation, Mitch grabbed the fallen automaton's sword in his other hand, stepped on top of a chest, and jumped off of it, stabbing two unsuspecting automatons in their backs. As his feet hit the floor, he ducked to avoid the horizontal slice of an axe, which would have hit his abdomen had he not reacted fast enough. Mitch pulled his left sword out of the automaton's body and stabbed the axe-wielder in the chest, which went limp and dropped the axe.

Mitch flinched for a moment, his previous action bringing back a terrible memory, before he snapped out of it. The sword still impaled in the axe-wielder's chest, he lifted the body slightly to block a volley of arrows from an archer in the distance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tribute rush towards him with a sword. Still blocking the arrows, Mitch pulled out his right sword and parried the blow before thrusting the blade into the automaton.

The archer, who probably had the intelligence of a skeleton, quickly ran out of arrows. Mitch, noticing this, dropped the automaton, pulled his sword out, and threw it at the archer. It impaled the automaton straight through its head.

Seto realized that despite Mitch's secret to his numerous victories, his title of Super Duper Minecrafter Level Hunger Games Champion wasn't totally inaccurate. In just a matter of 30 seconds, Mitch had already taken out seven tributes. Maybe, if he hadn't felt the need to cheat all those years ago...

_Maybe it's all your fault, Seto._

Seto forced that thought out of his mind and continued focusing on the screen, praying that Mitch would make it somehow, against all the odds against his favor.

Unfortunately, fourteen tributes suddenly decided to team up (probably at MonoWither's command) and all charged towards Mitch from one side. Mitch, who had the sense to see that defending himself would be pointless, quickly turned around and fled. He switched the sword in his right hand to his left as he ran through the forest, adrenaline coursing through his veins. The automatons followed behind him in hot pursuit.

One of the pursuers had a fishing rod and cast the line, managing to hook onto Mitch's right shoulder. Fishing rods in actual Hunger Games matches were specially made to only slow people down. This one was a real fishing rod. Mitch let out a strangulated cry as he was pulled down onto the floor, the snagged hook continuing to dig into his flesh. Tears of agony filled Mitch's eyes as he grabbed onto the hook and tore it from his shoulder, which started to bleed profusely. He gasped raggedly as he picked himself up, grabbed his sword, and continued to run, although at a slower pace.

Mitch realized that the fourteen tributes were trying to form a circle around him. It was almost like they were trying to herd him to a certain destination. This compelled him to run even faster despite the pain shooting from his shoulder. He tried not to look at the gaping wound.

A tribute suddenly appeared right in front of him and Mitch veered away as fast as he could. They were really trying to steer him somewhere...

Mitch burst through a clearing and immediately came to a halt. Time seemed to slow as the breath faded from his lungs. Standing off to the side was a familiar bacca, although his back turned to him. Mitch's lips formed Jerome's name as he stared in disbelief.

That was when he saw an archer on the other side of the clearing, raising a bow and aiming an arrow straight at the bacca.

He couldn't lose Jerome again... Not again...

Without a second thought, Mitch ran forward and leapt in front of the arrow. His vision went red as the arrow pierced the right side of his chest.

When Mitch came to a few seconds later, he was lying flat on the ground. He weakly turned his head to the side and saw the bacca, who was facing him now. The bacca, or automaton to be exact, was wearing a MonoWither mask.

Mitch's amber eyes widened in shock before he laughed quietly under his breath, a watery smile forming on his bloodstained lips. It was a smile consumed with pain, remorse, and utter despair.

The automaton raised its diamond axe as it approached the fallen SDML Hunger Games Champion, its joints creaking as it walked towards its prey. Shiny tears trickled from Mitch's eyes as they fixated on the bacca's masked face, never leaving it for one second, not even when the bacca swung the axe down in a deadly arch.

Crimson blood splattered the grass as a cannon boomed in the distance, echoing throughout the arena.

* * *

"Oh, how tragic!" MonoWither exclaimed with glee. "Wouldn't you agree?"

No one spoke. Not even Ryan. What could be said after watching all that?

"Oh poo, stop being so boring now! After all your deliciously despair-filled reactions to the killer's story, you seriously have nothing to say? The audience wants to know what you all think!"

"You want to know what _I_ think?" Ryan asked through his teeth.

MonoWither flew close to Ryan's face. "We're listening!"

Ryan suddenly tried to punch MonoWither, who immediately flew backwards to avoid the blow. "Woah, what was that for?!" MonoWither asked.

"That was for killing Mitch and Jerome!" Ryan yelled, tears of anger filling his eyes.

"Violence against your show's hosts is strictly prohibited!" MonoWither cried out.

"Yeah, I know," Ryan hissed. "Do your worst."

"Ryan, no!" Husky shouted. "He's going to kill you!"

"Shut up! I don't care anymore! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ANYMORE!" Ryan shrieked, his voice tearing through his throat as he broke down into heartrending sobs.

"Oh dear, are you planning to tell Mitch that little secret of yours in the afterlife? How pathetic, never even have the guts to tell him when he was alive, even when it was your last chance..." Ryan visibly flinched at that statement. "Well, we guess that since you missed, you _technically_ didn't break the rule..." MonoWither mused. "We guess we can let this go for now..."

Something about that statement was a contradiction that confused Seto, but he didn't mention it. After all, if MonoWither changed their minds, then Ryan would die...

He'd had enough of all this.

"How much longer are you going to do this?" Seto demanded.

"Whatever do you mean, Seto? Are you already getting bored?"

"How many more of us do you plan on killing?"

"For the last time, we didn't kill anyone other than Seth! And even then, that was his fault for breaking the rule!"

"Just answer my goddamn question, _Henri_ _Rennet_!" Seto demanded.

"Okay, okay, geez! That's all up to you guys! If you don't kill anyone, then the show lasts until we die of old age or boredom!"

"But what's in it for you?" Seto asked.

"Hey, you gonna keep asking meaningless questions? You know, since you tried to kill Bonks and utterly failed, we could tell everyone your secret right now..." Seto's eyes widened in horror. "Ahem, listen up everyone! Seto's secret is that half-"

"Stop!" Seto cried out desperately. "Please don't!"

MonoWither grinned. "Fine, we'll let you off the hook this time."

Seto trembled as he stood there, unable to feel relieved without feeling so very guilty...

"Anyway, that concludes the second trial of 'Super Duper Minecrafters'! We hope you've enjoyed the exciting drama so far! Now that the queerplatonic ship of Merome is dead, what other ships will be broken? The answer to that is in a later episode! Stay tuned for more!"

Ryan glared at MonoWither with seething hatred. Everyone else was lost in thought, reflecting on all that had just happened. To see two close friends torn apart in such a cruel manner... To see Mitch kill Jerome and die as a result... To see Ryan, the one who'd faced despair with determination, rendered hopeless...

Seto stared at Jerome's portrait before finally looking over at Sky's, which was to the left of Jade's. Sky's had two pink tentacles crossed over the face. Seto then looked over to the empty spot to the right of Jade's where Mitch had been standing just minutes ago, and had an awful feeling that he would eventually return to the courtroom one day and see his portrait standing there...

MonoWither was right, Seto thought to himself. This was truly a place devoid of any hope. Everyone was capable of killing someone else. If Mitch could kill Jerome of all people, even unintentionally, it had to be true.

No one was safe from the clutches of despair.

And being someone fully acquainted with despair, Seto began to wonder if there was really no way he would be able to save his friends from themselves, if not from himself.

 **PART** **02 -** **I'D** **GIVE** **MY** **LIFE** **/** **to** **trade** **places** **with** **you**

**END**

**STILL** **ALIVE** **: 13 - 2 = 11** **PARTICIPANTS**

 **ITEM** **GET** **!** **You** **acquired** **the** **present** **"Proposal Ring".**


	24. Odds Against Favor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **(A/N: First of all, sorry for the super long wait. School sucks. But I finished this chapter sooner than I expected.)**
> 
>  
> 
> **(Second of all, _I ADDED A NEW PROLOGUE TO THE STORY YOU SHOULD REALLY READ THAT IT'S KIND OF SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT JUST SAYING.)_**
> 
>  
> 
> **(Third of all, I added youtube links to the execution songs I mixed together (I just used existing music from DR but yeah), so if you go to the execution chapters you'll see them)**
> 
>  
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> **(Trigger Warning: Suicidal thoughts/tendencies)**

**PART 03- AND WHEN I DREAM /** **i'll** **dream of you all night**

_"Where are we going?" 15-year-old Seto asked, struggling to keep up as Sky dragged him by the hand through the crowd._

_"I want to show you the Hunger Games training center. Come on, it'll be fun!"_

_Seto swallowed down the nervousness building up inside of him. It was just a training center. There was nothing to be afraid of. He had to stop being so reclusive; everything would be fine! He just needed to calm down and remind himself that no one would judge him, a random stranger..._

_"Oh, and I also want you to meet some friends of mine!"_

_Seto briefly wondered how Sky would react if he just disappeared into thin air with no explanation and never returned ever again._

_Sky stopped running and stopped to catch his breath. "Here... Here we are..."_

_"...Sky, why did we have to_ run _here?"_

_"I don't know okay!"_

_"...Okay then."_

_Sky collected himself and cleared his throat before pushing the door open. Seto cautiously stepped inside behind Sky, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. The Hunger Games training center was much like a gymnasium with different stations, except each station had weapons. From what Seto could see, there was a bow and arrow station, a_ _weight-lifting_ _station, a wrestling station,_ _and-_

_"Hey look, there they are!"_

_Seto realized that Sky was pointing somewhere. He turned to face in that direction and saw two teenagers in a room encased with glass. One boy with chestnut hair was wielding a diamond sword. He was clashing alongside a bacca who was wielding a diamond axe. The two were each fighting orange holographic opponents, which would appear out of thin air and rush at them with various weapons. It was clear to Seto that the two were quite adequate at fighting, although it seemed as though the boy was lagging somewhat compared to his bacca friend._

_"They've been training hard lately," Sky pointed out. "They've got a regional championship coming up."_

_Suddenly the holograms disappeared and a voice from a speaker said "Training session complete." The two put down their weapons and panted deeply as the door swung open. The_ _bacca's_ _gaze shifted and his eyes lit up. "Sky!" he said, rushing over and wrapping Sky in a tight hug, lifting him off the ground._

_"_ _Agh_ _! Fluffy!_ _Stahp_ _!" Sky exclaimed, his voice muffled by the_ _bacca's_ _fur._ _The bacca put him down and laughed._

_The_ _chestnut-haired_ _boy wiped the sweat from his forehead and grinned. "Hey dood, what are you doing here?"_

_"I wanted to introduce you to my friend! You know, the sorcerer!" Sky replied._

_Both of them turned to look at Seto, who fought the sudden urge to run away. He forced a shy smile._

_"Oh, Sky's talked about you!" the bacca said, reaching out his hand. "The name's Jerome! Don't worry, I may look scary, but I don't bite!"_

_Seto shook his paw politely._

_The boy offered Seto his hand as well. "And I'm Mitch,_ _soon-to-be_ _a_ _world-famous_ _Hunger Games champion! I'm also a very humble person!" he joked. "What's your name?"_

_Seto shook his hand as well._ __"...I'm Seto."_ _

_"Nice, nice!" Jerome said. "Anyway, we were just training a little for our upcoming championship!"_

_"...So I've heard." Seto had a feeling that he should be more outgoing, but he just couldn't muster up the courage. Fortunately, Mitch and Jerome didn't seem to mind._

_"You know, Sky mentioned that you were a really good fighter..." Mitch murmured._

_Seto felt his face grow a little hot (he hoped his hood would conceal it)._ " _R-Really_ _?"_

_"Yeah, he told us how you saved_ _him-_ _"_

_"Well, well, well, if it isn't the next_ losers _of the Hunger Games..." a rather_ _obnoxious-sounding_ _voice suddenly cut in. Everyone turned to see a group of three older boys sauntering over to them._

_"Oh great..." Jerome muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes._

_"Well, well, well, if it isn't Misters 'Totally Not Some Bullies From a Cliché High School Movie'..." Mitch grumbled._

_Seto quickly sized them up. All three of them were wearing_ _teal-blue_ _jackets. The two boys on both sides were quite burly and muscular, but judging by their demeanors they didn't seem to be very_ _quick-minded_ _. Although maybe that last part applied more to the boy on the right, since the boy on the left seemed... different._ _He was just staring at Mitch with a rather troubled expression for some strange reason._

_The boy in the center, however, was the real threat. With a cocky smile and arrogant composure, he wasn't as physically strong as his two friends, but Seto could tell that he was the leader of this gang._

_"_ _Hey, we're talking to you here, losers!"_ _the leader said indignantly._

_"What did you just call my friends?!" Sky asked angrily._

_The leader's lip curled up in a taunting smirk. "Are you deaf, kid?"_

_Sky balled his hands into fists. "Who the hell are you guys anyway?!"_

_"We're the Cave Spiders!" the boy on the right stated proudly. "We've been the undefeated, invisible champions of the Hunger Games for three years!"_

_"It's 'invincible', Jake," the boy on the left corrected._ _"'Invisible' means no one can see us."_

_"Shut up Ryan!" Jake retorted. "No one cares!"_

_"Oh, look at you, 'undefeated champions'," Sky ranted. "Ever thought about not being_ _colossal_ _douchebags_ _?"_

_"Sky, don't," Jerome began, but was promptly cut off by_ _the boy in the center._

_"I know you," he said, sneering._ _"You're that kid who gets targeted by squids all the time because they lost a war against your ancestor and you look like him."_

_"Wow I am_ thrilled _that you know so much about me," Sky replied with annoyance._

_"Well, my father happens to be the owner of this training center_ and _knows the regional manager of the Games personally_ _," the boy boasted. "I guess it paid off for us, now didn't it?"_

_Jake laughed rather oafishly, but Ryan just kept staring at Mitch (who didn't seem to notice)._

_"Just leave us alone,_ _Chaz_ _," Mitch replied curtly. "We didn't do anything to you."_

_"Is this going to be your team for the regional championship?"_ _Chaz_ _asked. "How desperate are you? It's not like_ _squid-_ _slaying's_ _gonna get you anywhere... And besides, your sorcerer friend can't use magic in the arena!"_

_"_ _Woah_ _Chaz_ _,"_ _Jak_ _e said in amazement, "how'd you know he was a sorcerer?"_

_Ryan scoffed. "He's wearing the type of cloak most sorcerers wear,_ _dumbass_ _..."_

_"Oh..._ __Chaz_ _ _, you're so smart for figuring that out!"_

_Ryan looked ready to burst open a vein on his temple._ __Chaz_ _ _ignored both of them and continued on. "Well, is this your team?"_

_"No," Jerome replied, "it's just Mitch and I out of the Pack who made it into the champs. And we're not really looking for a fight before the Games, so we'd like it if you just left us_ _alone-_ _"_

_"The Pack? Come on Jerome, you could do so much better!"_

_"...What?"_

_"The people you hang out with are a bunch of_ loser _s, Jerome! They never win!"_

_Mitch's face was scarlet. "_ _H-_ _Hey_ _-_ _! What are_ _you-_ _"_

_"But you? You're the one who's always closest to winning! In fact, it seems that your 'friends' are the ones piggybacking off of you!"_

_"Shut up_ __Chaz_ _ _!" Mitch yelled, visibly shaken. "_ _J-Jerome_ _, let's go-"_

_Chaz_ _grinned._ _"But the Cave Spiders are the undefeated champions, aren't we?"_

_Jake giggled. "Yeah... We're the_ _best-_ _"_

_"Jake, that was a rhetorical question. And it wasn't even addressed to you."_

_"SHUT UP RYAN!!!"_

_"So we've actually been wondering if you'd be interested in being a member,"_ __Chaz_ _ _concluded._

_Mitch looked helpless. "_ _Jerome-_ _Jerome_ _please-_ _"_

_Jerome's face was unreadable. "Join you guys... and become a champion... huh..."_

_Even Sky looked apprehensive. "Jerome, think about_ _this-_ _"_

_"Well, I'm flattered! Of course I'd join you guys! Then you can piggyback off of me, just like how you already do with Jake and Ryan, isn't that right?!" Jerome said before cackling raucously, showing his fangs in the process._

_Mitch and Sky both sighed in relief._

_"_ _Ch_ _-_ __Chaz_ _ _isn't piggybacking us, are you blind?" Jake asked_ _cluelessly_ _. "He's standing right there!"_

_Ryan looked ready to have a stroke. "Jake, for once in your goddamn life..."_

_Chaz_ _was fuming. "_ _E-Excuse_ _me?!"_

_"Come on_ _Chaz_ _," Mitch said, gaining confidence. "Everyone knows you just have those two guys to pick off everyone else for you."_

_"Oh, you think you're better than me? Us?"_ _Chaz_ _said, correcting himself. "Well why don't you just fight us right now! The sparring ring is right there!" To emphasize his point, he pointed to it. It was like a wrestling ring and even had ropes attached to each post, except there were actually wooden weapons hanging on frames for anyone to use._

_Mitch and Jerome both fell silent. Besides the humiliating possibility of losing, the fact that_ _Chaz's_ _father knew the regional manager... Perhaps he could do something that would disqualify them from the Games forever..._

_"Exactly!"_ _Chaz_ _said, his cocky sneer of triumph returning._ _"Don't talk shit if you can't back your shit up!"_

_Seto didn't like this at all. He barely knew Mitch and Jerome, but they seemed like genuinely nice people who didn't deserve to be harassed like this. And_ _Chaz_ _somewhat reminded him of a certain person... The way he constantly tried to prove his power and superiority..._

_"...I'll fight you."_

_Everyone turned to face Seto, even the people who had just been observing the altercation from a distance. Seto felt a blush of mortification rush to his face. Oh god, what had he just done? He didn't like all these stares!_

_"You can't use magic, sorcerer kid!"_ _Chaz_ _said, rolling his eyes._

_"I know."_

_Sky looked apprehensive. "Seto, what are_ _you-_ _"_

_"I want to fight him."_

_"It's not just me!"_ _Chaz_ _said._

_"Yeah, you'll have to deal with us too!" Jake said._

_"Then all three of you."_

_Mitch and Jerome were eyeing him with peculiar expressions. "You're going to fight them alone?" Mitch asked, stupefied._

_Seto swallowed before nodding._

_Jerome grabbed his arm. "No, look, you can't fight all three of them at_ _once-_ _"_

_Seto shook the_ _bacca's_ _grip off. "I know what I'm doing."_

_Chaz_ _looked a little confused, but continued anyway. "Alright kid, you're committing suicide here, but that's your problem! Come on Cave Spiders, it's time to show everyone who the real champions are around here!"_

_The four of them entered the sparring ring while everyone else stopped what they were doing to crowd around them. Seto was on one end, closest to the weapon frames, while_ _Chaz_ _, Jake, and Ryan were on the other. The whole match looked horribly uneven, and Seto couldn't even use his magic..._

_But that didn't mean he was completely outmatched._

_"You know what, I'll be courteous. No weapons. Sure, they're just made of wood, but we'll do this the traditional way,"_ _Chaz_ _said. "Are you ready?"_

_Seto nodded._

_Chaz_ _gestured to Ryan with a tilt of his head. Ryan sighed almost reluctantly before stepping forward, his muscles rippling as he did so. Seto gulped. One hit and it would probably be over._

_Without warning, Ryan charged forward to tackle Seto. Seto reacted on instinct alone as he dodged to the side. Ryan almost hit the ropes, but stopped himself in time and whirled around. Seto began to back away but leapt to the side again when Ryan lunged at him._

_"Come on, fight you punk! Stop running away like a pussy!"_ _Chaz_ _yelled from the sidelines._ _"You're the one who wanted to fight us in the first place!"_

_How ironic, Seto thought to himself as he backed away from Ryan. Suddenly, he felt strong arms wrap around his chest and abdomen from behind and lift him into the air. Taken by surprise, Seto cried out and writhed desperately in an unsuccessful attempt to free himself from Jake's grip._

_Ryan curled his fingers into a fist and stepped forward to punch Seto in the face, but hesitated._

_In that moment, Seto came to his senses and kicked Jake's shins with as much force as possible. Jake let out an undignified shriek and dropped Seto, who turned around and tried to strike Jake's chin with the heel of his palm, but Jake grabbed_ _Seto's_ _arm before it made contact. Seto had no time to react before Jake's other hand gripped his shoulder and hurled him to the ground so hard, the sorcerer saw stars flash in his vision as his body slammed against the floor._

"SETO!" _Seto heard Sky yell, horrified. He also heard everyone else watching the fight groan with sympathy for him. His head swirling, Seto closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to ignore the stinging pain of the impact. He started to pick himself up but gasped as he felt someone step on his back, pinning him down._

_"If you know what's good for you," Ryan muttered from above him, "you'll just stop fighting."_

_Seto continued to squirm anyway in an unsuccessful attempt to free himself but stopped when the heel of Ryan's shoe started digging into his flesh. Seto panted heavily, staring up to glare at_ _Chaz_ _._

_Only here did_ _Chaz_ _finally approach Seto. "You done yet?" he asked, sneering._

_"You gonna start fighting him like a real champion?!" Jerome yelled from the sidelines, angered. The people watching started shouting in assent._

_"Hey, he's the one who wanted to challenge me- I mean, us!"_ _Chaz_ _shouted._

_"Well you just stood off to the side and made your bodyguards do everything for you!" Mitch countered. "That's what you do in every fight in the Games! It's not fair!"_

_The cheers grew louder in volume. The pressure f_ _rom_ _Ryan's foot lessened somewhat as he got distracted by the commotion. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Seto promptly turned over, grabbed Ryan's leg, and pushed him backwards. Ryan fell on his rear with a surprised grunt. Seto rose to his feet and saw_ _Chaz_ _dart behind Jake. "Get him, Jake!" he ordered._

_Jake struck his palm with his fist and grinned at Seto as he stepped forward. Seto stepped backwards, forcing a terrified expression on his face as he feigned weakness. Jake's grin widened as he let his guard down, carelessly punching in_ _Seto's_ _direction. Seto sidestepped and immediately lunged forward to strike Jake's solar plexus. Jake heaved as he hunched forward, all the wind knocked out of him in that one blow. Seto grabbed Jake's shoulders and hurled him to the ground, feeling satisfied knowing that Jake wouldn't be_ _getting_ _up any time soon._

_The crowd whooped and cheered, goading him on. "YOU GO, SETO!!!" Sky shouted proudly._

_He looked up and stared at_ _Chaz_ _, whose demeanor had now been reduced from arrogance to fear. "_ _Wh_ _-What_ _did_ _you-_ _How-_ _"_ _Chaz_ _stammered frantically before composing himself. "_ _You-_ _You cheater! You obviously used magic, that's the only_ _explanation-_ _"_

_"When did you see me use magic?" Seto asked calmly._

_Chaz_ _huffed in frustration before looking behind Seto. "Ryan! Don't just stand there, get him!"_

_Ryan was staring at the floor, lost in thought. It looked as though he was fighting an internal battle._

_"Ugh, for the love of... JAKE! GET UP!!! IT WAS JUST ONE HIT!!!"_

_Jake was curled on his side, clutching his abdomen and groaning in pain. "But it hurts..."_

_"Come on_ _Chaz_ _, fight him yourself if you're really that strong!" Jerome yelled._

_"Do it, 'undefeated champion of the Hunger Games'!" Mitch taunted._

_Chaz_ _grit his teeth and growled at Seto. "I swear to god, I can call police and tell them you're causing bodily injury and threatening my safety. Ryan's mother's the deputy, she'll take my side over yours. Isn't that right, Ryan?! Your_ _mom'll_ _arrest him if he hurts me, right?!"_

_Ryan's blue eyes were cold. "Well, I mean, that's only if I told her he attacked you first."_

_"And that's exactly what you'll do, right?!"_

_"We're his witnesses!" someone in the crowd shouted in_ _Seto's_ _defense._

_"It's Ryan's word over yours, assholes!"_ _Chaz_ _shouted back. "Come on Ryan, call your mom right now!"_

_Ryan shrugged. "Eh... I'm not really in the mood..."_

_Chaz_ _looked affronted. "_ _You-_ _What-_ _Are you not listening to what I'm telling you to do?!"_

_"You know_ _Chaz_ _, this whole 'me doing all the dirty work while you take the credit' thing isn't so appealing to me anymore."_

_Chaz_ _started to laugh nervously. "What are you talking about Ryan, we're friends! I'm not taking all the credit! We're a team, all three of us! We're the Cave_ _Spiders-_ _"_

_Ryan took off his blue jacket. "I'm fucking done with this bullshit. You're just some arrogant jag who hides behind stronger people to bring yourself up. You pick on other people like Mitch and Jerome just so you can establish you're better than them, or some other stupid shit like that when they didn't even do anything to us. I don't want to associate myself with assholes like you. You can find someone else to deal with your shit, because I'm not doing it anymore." He threw his Cave Spider jacket down on the floor before walking out of the rink._

_"So that's it then? You're just gonna leave? Like this?!"_ _Chaz_ _shrieked, his face turning a furious shade of red. "For fuck's sake Ryan, do you realize what you're giving up?! I'm the only friend you have in this world, remember that?! Remember who you were before you met me?! You were nothing, Ryan! NOTHING!!! Do you want to go back to being nothing again?!"_

_Ryan pushed through the crowd, not looking back for one instant._

_Chaz_ _clenched his jaw and gnashed his teeth together, making guttural sounds of anger, before turning back to Seto. "So you think you can beat me?" he asked._

_Seto didn't reply._

_Chaz_ _snarled and lunged at Seto, who just raised his fist and let_ _Chaz_ _run into it._ _Chaz_ _clutched his ribcage and cried out. "FUCK!!!" he exclaimed while the crowd jeered at him._

_Was this guy totally incapable of fighting properly?_

_Chaz_ _growled before making a fighting stance once more. "That was one time!" he shouted before charging at Seto once more with one fist raised. Seto moved to the side, grabbed_ _Chaz's_ _shoulder, and pushed him back._ _Chaz_ _stumbled as he fought to regain his footing. The crowd laughed at him even harder._

_Chaz_ _reminded_ _Seto of an angered bull as he ran at him for a third time. Seto just sidestepped and tripped him by sticking his foot out._ _Chaz_ _slowly got up, glowering at the sorcerer with pure hatred._

_Seto saw_ _Chaz_ _very briefly glance at something behind the sorcerer, smirk slightly, before looking back. "You think this fight is over?" he taunted._

_Seto immediately turned around and stomped on Jake's back. Jake, who had been in the middle of getting up, squealed in pain as he collapsed to the floor once again._

_Chaz's_ _face paled. "_ _You-_ _You-_ _"_

_"It's_ over _,_ _Chaz_ _," Seto said quietly. "You lost."_

_"Yeah_ _Chaz_ _, give up!" someone in the crowd shouted._

_"You lost, and that's that!"_

_"You're not a real champion!"_

_Chaz_ _looked wildly around, glaring at everyone. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"_

_Seto turned around and started to leave as the crowd continued to mock him._ _Chaz's_ _face started to turn a dark shade of red as his breathing got heavier. His fists clenched together tightly as his gaze turned to the weapon stand..._

_Seto was leaning down, about to step through the ropes, when it happened._

" _S-Seto_ _! LOOK OUT!!!" Sky shouted frantically. "_ _BEHIND_ _-_ "

_That was the last thing Seto heard before everything went blank._

* * *

_The next thing Seto knew, he was lying on the ground and Sky was shaking his shoulder. "Seto? Seto wake up!" Sky said urgently._

_Seto blinked as he stared up at Sky, who had a terrified expression on his face. Mitch and Jerome were also next to him. For some reason, Seto felt physically exhausted. "S... Sky...? What... What happened...?"_

_Sky looked hesitant._

_Mitch bit his lip. "Don't you remember?"_

_"...Remember what?"_

_"_ _G-_ _Geez_ _buddy... You really don't have a clue what you did?" Jerome said, laughing nervously._

_Seto sat up and looked across the sparring ring to see a bunch of people crowded around_ _Chaz_ _, who was lying unconscious, his body all too still on the ground._

_His limp body was surrounded by wooden weapons..._

_Finally Sky spoke up. "Seto... I've never seen your magic turn_ red _before..."_

_Seto's_ _stomach immediately twisted as chills ran down his spine. The memories came flooding back, memories that weren't his own, but the_ other one's _..._

He _had immediately turned around and formed a force field that blocked the wooden spear that_ _Chaz_ _had hurled at him..._

He _had lashed back by hoisting_ _Chaz_ _into the air with a chokehold..._

He _had surrounded_ _Chaz_ _with the training weapons_ he _had levitated in the air,_ _prepared to impale_ _Chaz_ _from all directions_ _..._

He _had grinned sadistically as_ _Chaz_ _writhed in the air, unable to beg for mercy..._

_That was when_ he _had passed out and relinquished control of the body..._

_Seto started screaming and scrambled backwards on all fours. "NO! NO NO NO!!!" he shrieked hysterically as he shot to his feet._

_Sky reached out for him. "Seto,_ _wait-_ _!"_

_Seto climbed over the ropes and ran out of the training center at full speed. He burst through the doors and found himself in the bustling city streets. In his panic, he couldn't steady himself as people pushed past him, jostling him back and forth._

_"Seto!" He heard Sky call from behind him._

What have you done?

_Seto looked behind him to see Sky, Mitch, and Jerome in hot pursuit. He desperately began shoving his way through the crowd as fast as he could, ignoring some of the people's cries of indignation._

_"Seto! Come back!"_

_All the people surrounding him was making him feel claustrophobic and lightheaded. The fact that Sky, Mitch, and Jerome were chasing him from behind too... Seto looked at the intersection and saw the wide white lines painted on the black pavement. Without a second thought he ran across them, not realizing that the traffic signal had a big red hand on it. The sounds of rubber tires screeching to a halt and loud honks filled the air as Seto blindly sprinted across the street, narrowly avoiding getting run over._

_Seto heard Sky's shouts get fainter. He just kept running despite the fact that his tears were making it difficult to see even two feet in front of him. He didn't know where the hell he was. Why didn't cities have exit signs? Where was home? There was too many people here, this was exactly why he was reluctant to come with Sky, it was too dangerous..._

He _was too dangerous..._

How could you let this happen again? _his mind scolded him._ How could you?!

_He's_ only supposed to appear after I'm electrically shocked! _he tried to argue._

Oh really? That's what the scientists thought so too... Remember what happened to them? Remember what horrible things he did?

_A terrible, bloody memory (once again not belonging to Seto himself) flooded his mind, making Seto choke out a ragged sob. He stumbled and grabbed onto a nearby lamppost to steady himself. His whole body was trembling violently as his sobs tore through his lungs, eyes shut tightly as tears streamed down his face._

_He'd done it again... He'd let_ him _hurt someone again... He'd hurt_ _Chaz_ _in front of everybody... It was all his fault for letting_ him _take control for a second time..._

_Seto took deep shuddering breaths_ _as he tried to stifle his tears. Gradually, he noticed the rushing sound of water nearby. Seto looked around and noticed that he was standing on a bridge. He slowly let go of the lamppost and walked over to the edge, peering over the parapet and staring down at the gushing river quite a distance below, its depths too far away and murky to see._

_No one was around. He didn't know how far away Sky, Mitch, and Jerome were, or if they even knew which direction he'd gone after they'd been separated by Seto crossing the street so haphazardly. Seto turned back to gaze at the river._

_Maybe... if Seto just..._

_"I wouldn't step so close to the edge if I were you. People fall to their deaths, and the city government's too stingy to put safety nets."_

_Seto_ _flinched and turned to his right to see Ryan walking over to him._ _He was holding a black leash, attached to which was a white pit bull._ _The dog sniffed at_ _Seto's_ _cloak curiously before peering up at him_ _._

_Ryan leaned down and pet his dog affectionately. "Good boy Cooper, I knew you'd find him!" Ryan murmured._ _Cooper_ _barked with satisfaction and tried to lick his face._

_"_ _G-Get_ _away from me-" Seto stammered, raising his arms defensively as he stepped backwards. "I'll- I'll hurt you_ _too-_ _Just like_ _Chaz_ _\--"_

_Ryan paused and stood straight, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"_

_"It's not safe for you to be here with me!" Seto yelled. "Just go away!"_

_Ryan didn't budge._

_"_ _D-Didn't_ _you see me- I- I hurt_ _him-_ _I hurt_ _Chaz_ _-_ _"_

_"Yeah, you really hurt his pride alright. It definitely isn't going to recover after this humiliating event."_

_Seto was taken aback by Ryan's casualness of the situation. "_ _Wh_ _-_ _What-_ _"_

_Ryan suddenly reached out and grabbed_ _Seto's_ _arm tightly before dragging him away. "Come on. You're coming with me whether you like it or not."_

_Seto yelped and desperately attempted to free himself from Ryan's iron grip. "_ _Hey-_ _Let me go- What are_ _you-_ _?"_ _Seto's_ _eyes widened. "No- Please don't arrest me- I_ _swear-_ _I swear I'll just go_ _away-_ _I won't come back ever_ _again-_ _Please-_ _"_

_Ryan snorted as he continued to drag Seto down the street. (Cooper was happily walking beside him, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.) "Just because my mom's the deputy doesn't mean I can or want to arrest people. Besides, you didn't do anything wrong."_

_"_ _Wh_ _\- What are you talking_ _about-_ _I hurt him, I almost_ _killed_ _him-_ _!"_

_"It was in self-defense. I know I..._ used _to be friends with him, but... he did deserve that after attacking you from behind..."_

_"Where are you taking me then?" Seto asked apprehensively._

_"I'm taking you back to your friends."_

_"My... friends?"_

_"Yeah? That Sky kid, Mitch, and Jerome? Your friends?"_

_"...I don't know if... they'd call me a friend..."_

_"Well friends or not, they're looking all over for you."_ __They turned a corner. The streets were a lot less crowded than Seto remembered.__

_"I- I really don't think you should take me_ _back-_ _"_

_"Why not?"_

_"They're probably mad at me-"_

_"SETO!!!"_ _Sky's shout filled the air. Seto looked forward to see Sky, Mitch, and Jerome running over to them._

_Ryan let go of_ _Seto's_ _arm and pushed him forward. "Cooper and I found him by the bridge," he said bluntly._

_Seto yelped as Sky wrapped him in a tight_ _hug._ _"Don't you ever do that again!" Sky scolded._

_"I- I'm_ _sorry-_ _It won't happen_ _again-_ _I_ _promise-_ _"_ _Seto mumbled tearfully._

_"It better not!" Sky shouted._

_Bitter pangs of shame sank into his chest as he heard Sky's words. "I won't hurt anyone ever again... I promise..."_

_Sky paused before pulling away. "...What?"_

_Seto stared down at the pavement. "I didn't mean for_ _Chaz_ _to get hurt like_ _that, I swear it was an_ _accident-_ _"_

_"What_ _the-_ _I meant don't run off on your own like that again!" Sky said, bewildered. "It was dangerous! Especially when you almost got run over!"_

_Seto looked confused. "_ _But-_ _But what about_ _Chaz_ _-_ _"_

_"Who cares about that asshole?!"_

_"I shouldn't have hurt him like_ _that-_ _"_

_"He had it coming..." Mitch muttered._

_"_ _Sky here was freaking out trying to find you," Jerome said._

_"You could have gotten lost, seriously hurt, something like that!" Sky yelled._

_"...Oh." Seto paused. "Is_ _Chaz_ _okay?"_

_"Who cares?!" Sky repeated._

_Seto didn't reply._

_"Well if it makes you feel any better,_ _Chaz_ _wasn't actually hurt," Jerome said._

_"But... he was unconscious..."_

_"Yeah, he fainted because he was so scared," Mitch said._

_"He's going to lose all support for the regional champs, once this gets around," Jerome said, smirking. "Serves him right."_

_"Speaking of the champs..." Mitch said. "Hey, Ryan?"_

_Ryan had been standing there silently the whole time. "_ _Wh_ _\- What?" he stammered._

_"You're still going to the championship, right?" Mitch asked._

_"Well... I don't know..." Ryan murmured. "I mean, now that I'm not part of the Cave Spiders anymore... Not sure if there's a point."_

_"Jerome and I were thinking about asking if you wanted to join us."_

_Ryan's face turned a flustered red. "M- Me? Join you?"_

_"Yeah!" Jerome said excitedly. "You sound like a cool guy, and now that you don't have a team anymore, you can join us!"_

_"Um... The Games aren't really my thing... I was just doing it because_ _Chaz_ _wanted me to..." Ryan said hesitantly._

_"Oh, well that's okay," Jerome said. "Still, we should hang out sometime. You should meet the rest of the Pack!"_

_"We're playing Cops N' Robbers on Sunday. You want to join us? It'll be fun, dood..." Mitch said, smiling._

_Something flashed in Ryan's blue eyes as he looked away. Finally, he looked back. "Only if I'm the warden," he joked._

_"All right then!" Jerome said, smacking him on the shoulder_ _so hard that Seto winced with sympathy._

_Sky tapped_ _Seto's_ _back. "Hey, Seto? It's getting late, you wanna crash at my place?"_

_"...Sure."_

**DING DONG, DING DONG**

Seto jolted awake at the sound of the alarm, gasping wildly for breath.

**Good morning, bastards! It's 7 in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to have fun and entertain the audience today!**

"S-Sky?" Seto asked, looking around the pitch-black room. His heart was pounding in his chest and he swallowed nervously. "Mitch? Jerome? Where are you guys? Anyone?! Answer me!!!"

Seto felt for the lamp in the darkness before finally flipping the switch and turning it on. He sat up and looked around the unfamiliar room, confused and disoriented.

_What's going on? Where did everybody go? What happened to them?_

Then everything came crashing back to him like a cruel slap to the face.

Seto's hands shook violently as he ran his fingers through his matted hair. The room seemed to swirl around him as the walls closed in...

10 days ago, there were 16 people. Friends. All together, alive and breathing.

Today, there was only 11...

Seth, Jade, Sky, Mitch, Jerome...

All it took was 10 days for them to die...

_"_ _Upupupu_ _..."_

Seto drew in a sharp breath once he heard the laugh and turned to face MonoWither, who was hovering beside him and grinning proudly.

"Aw, poor widdle Seto, did you have a scawy nightmare?" MonoWither asked mockingly.

Seto looked away. The last time he'd tried to defend himself from MonoWither... it hadn't ended well...

"Well, we guess you didn't have a nightmare while you were _sleeping_. You were remembering how you met Mitch, Jerome, and Ryan right?"

Here Seto flinched in surprise. "H-How did you kn-"

"Oh, we're espers of course!" MonoWither declared.

"...Espers-?"

"Nah, just kidding. We heard you talking in your sleep. You know what else you said?"

Seto didn't respond.

MonoWither's voice suddenly changed in tone. "Oh- Oohh~! H-Harder Tyler~! Harder~! Ooh~! Right- Right there~! OOOHHH~!!! TYLER~!!!"

Seto's face flushed an indignant shade of red. "Stop that! Shut the fuck up!" he shouted angrily, subconsciously crossing his arms over his chest.

"Are you uncomfortable?" MonoWither asked, sneering. "Should we keep going? Come on Seto, it's just a joke! You don't have to get so antsy!"

Seto didn't reply again. He was struggling to keep everything together. MonoWither was doing this on purpose, the sick machine...

"Well, perverted jokes for the pure sake of disturbing Seto aside, let's talk about your dream!" MonoWither said in an upbeat tone. "Wasn't it such a happy, pleasant memory?"

Seto stared at MonoWither, too apprehensive to do anything to stop them from speaking.

MonoWither hovered closer to Seto, their voice turning serious. "But everything changed when you woke up and was so rudely brought back to reality... Isn't it sad? No, despairing? You can dream all the hopeful memories you want, but the moment you wake up..." Their red eyes gleamed maliciously in the dimness of the room. "...despair will always await you..."

"...The hell is your point?" Seto snapped weakly.

"Our point? Well, maybe if you don't like the despair of reality... You could always just sleep forever... Wouldn't it feel better if you never had to face despair ever again?"

Seto looked away, not wanting MonoWither to see the tears that had sprung up in his eyes.

"Also, wouldn't everyone else feel better if they never had to see you ever again?"

"...What?"

"Don't tell us you forgot what horrible, reprehensible thing you tried to do to Bonks!"

Seto winced.

"Besides, you know what else you were saying in your sleep?" MonoWither asked. "It was quite curious... You said something about murdering someone named Chaz... Something about how you wanted so badly to impale that poor person with a bunch of weapons..."

Seto felt his heart skip a beat as all the blood drained from his face. "Wh-What- What are you-" he stammered frantically. "C-Cut it out! That's not funny, MonoWither! I'm sick of your jokes!"

"Jokes? Seems rather... _specifically detailed_ for it to just be a mere joke, don'tcha think?" MonoWither asked innocently.

"Slotty can't take control!" Seto shouted. "Not like that!"

"How can you be so sure about that, Seto?" MonoWither asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. "You always promised you'd keep Slotty under control... And yet _he_ still took over without your knowledge, without any outside stimulation... Are you really in control over yourself?"

"SHUT UP!!!" Seto shrieked. "He won't come back! He won't!"

"Well, maybe it's not just Slotty everyone has to worry about..." MonoWither murmured thoughtfully. "Maybe... the real enemy here is _you_... After all, what sane person tries to murder their friend for a mere secret? You can't blame that on Slotty, that was _all you_... You, not Slotty, was the one who planned the murder..."

Seto balled his hands into fists. There was this overwhelming urge to scratch, to tear at his own skin, dig deep until he reached the bone...

_No, you have to keep yourself under control! You have to CONTROL YOURSELF! CONTROL!!! CONTROL YOURSELF!!!_

Seto seethed as the urge almost consumed him. He was clenching his teeth so hard, he felt like his jaw would shatter at any moment.

"Oh no! Seto's angry! He's lost control over himself! Don't hurt us please!" MonoWither said, mimicking terror. "Don't hurt us _monster! Monster! Monster!_ Seto's become a _monster~_ _!_ Everybody run for your lives!"

MonoWither cackled as they finally disappeared, leaving Seto alone.

Seto burst into ragged sobs as he buried his face in his hands. His fingernails clawed at the top of his head, tugging at his locks of hair until the pain was too much to bear. Why did he have to be like this? What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just disappear? What was the point of existing when all he did was hurt people?

_Seto yelped as Sky wrapped him in a tight hug. "Don't you ever do that again!" Sky scolded._

Seto's amber eyes, glistening with tears, widened at the memory.

_"Don't run off on your own like that again! It was dangerous! Especially when you almost got run over!"_

Seto slowly let go of his head and looked at the dresser beside the bed. He reached over and opened the drawer before pulling out the purple-and-gold amulet.

_"You could have gotten lost, seriously hurt, something like that!"_

He stared at it for a little while before clinging onto it tightly. He forced himself to breathe deeply, inhaling through his nose and holding before exhaling through his mouth in a steady rhythm. Gradually, he calmed himself down until his mind was clear and his heartbeat wasn't pounding furiously. Seto sat in his bed and thought about what to do next.

It was the tenth day since they were trapped. Only eleven of them remained. But that didn't mean hope was gone forever. They could still live together in harmony.

MonoWither was just trying to get under his skin, and he couldn't let him succeed. It was all part of the sick, twisted game that had already killed five of his friends...

Seto refused to let MonoWither win. He had to make sure no more people would lose their lives, not even himself.


	25. Third Time's the Charm

Seto finally mustered up the will to leave his room a few minutes later. Of course, he made sure to magically hide the scars on his cheek, the ones that Bonks had left him. It certainly wouldn't make everyone forget what he did, but he still didn't want to think about it or have the others be constantly reminded.

As he approached the cafeteria, however, he gradually heard voices from inside get louder.

"I... I'm just so _scared_ , Husky..." Jason's voice said shakily. Seto stopped in his tracks, surprised to hear the usually-cheerful man sound so afraid like this.

"It was just a nightmare," Husky replied in a low voice. "Don't think about it so much."

"I know, but- but in a place like this, anything could happen... What if we don't make it out alive? What if- What if you get killed, what if-?"

"Relax, Jason. You're hyperventilating again."

Jason took a few deep breaths. "S-Sorry..."

"What would it take for me to reassure you that I won't die?"

"...I don't know if anything could..."

"...You want me to make the mega-best-friend promise?" Husky asked. Seto couldn't see it but he could tell from the tone of his voice that Husky was grinning widely.

Jason smacked him, probably on the shoulder. "We're not in elementary school anymore, dumbass."

"Cross my heart and hope to spy, fly a rocket through the sky, I promise that I won't let either of us get killed," Husky replied. "Is that good enough for you?"

Jason paused before laughing a little, his voice still slightly nervous. "Fine... Dumbass..."

Seto decided to enter the cafeteria at this point. He walked in and saw Jason and Husky sitting together. Husky had his arms wrapped around Jason, but when he saw Seto he immediately let go. "Woah, hey there Seto, we weren't doing anything..." Husky said awkwardly.

Jason tried to subtly wipe his eyes and compose himself before looking up at Seto. His cheeks were still flushed and his eyes had dark patches from a restless night. "Uh, good morning..."

"Good morning," Seto replied politely as he sat down at another table. He noticed that neither Jason nor Husky had made any move to eat, a sentiment he could agree with since his appetite had completely disappeared at this point.

Tyler walked in then. His square-lens glasses sat crookedly on his face and his brown hair was tousled since he probably hadn't bothered to brush it. It looked like he'd barely gotten any sleep at all as well. "'Morning," he mumbled as he sat down beside Seto.

Seto nodded in acknowledgement. It suddenly occurred to him that it had been three days since Tyler had appeared in the cafeteria with everybody else. Going along that train of thought, it was only the tenth day since they had been trapped... They had spent ten days in this hellhole, and five of their friends were already dead.

To say that time flew in this place would be an understatement. No sooner had they started to move on from the deaths of Seth, Jade, and Sky, did they find themselves having to grieve for Jerome and Mitch as well.

Had this become routine already? The thought disturbed Seto so much, he didn't want to think about it. If ten days had already passed, why hadn't anyone found them yet? Surely someone would have contacted the police by now, and they would have quickly figured out the missing participants were in Diamond Studios. Did anyone even know they were missing? Was anyone even looking for them?

What if they did know where they were, but for some reason the police just couldn't break in and save them?

Seto forced himself to stop thinking about these questions. They wouldn't solve anything right now.

Gradually everyone else filed in, all looking weary and deadened. Ryan hadn't appeared yet, however, but that wasn't exactly surprising. The last trial had clearly taken its toll on all of them. Only Ashley and Jordan had the stomach to grab something from the kitchen to eat, and even they barely ate. The empty silence that hung in the room was deafening. It hurt Seto to see everyone like this, so unlike how they were ten days ago. It hurt Seto to see how their numbers had dwindled down like this...

Was this inevitable?

Seto didn't have time to think about this question when Bonks entered the cafeteria, holding a picture frame in her hands. She looked around nervously as she walked past all of them towards the memorial table in the back of the cafeteria, placing the picture frame down. Seto stood up and made his way to the table, followed by everyone else.

The drawing had Mitch and Jerome sitting in a meadow together. The lush, green meadow was filled with white daisies. Someone, probably MonoWither, had replaced the torches on the table with proper candles. The soft light of the candles illuminated Mitch and Jerome's grinning faces. The light also filled Seto with a sense of warmth. It didn't get rid of the mournful grief he felt at all, but strangely, despite everything they made him feel... hopeful.

For a few seconds, everyone gathered around the memorial, all having a solemn vigil of silence for their fallen friends. And then someone in particular shattered it.

_"What are you all doing?"_

Everyone turned to face MonoWither, who was hovering in the air and grinning at them. "Aw, why the long faces?"

If looks could kill, MonoWither would probably have exploded into fiery bits by now.

"Well there's no point in just sitting here doing nothing other than angst about death and despair. The third floor's already open! In fact, someone is already exploring it!"

Seto finally spoke. "Ryan's already on the third floor?"

"Yep! He was so excited to explore the new sights, he didn't sleep at all!"

Husky frowned. "He didn't sleep?"

"Why so concerned? Fun fact, a lack of sleep never killed anyone!" MonoWither stated.

"That may be true, but it certainly isn't healthy at all..." Ashley muttered. "Not sleeping contributes to loads of health problems, even though it doesn't directly kill you."

"Yeah well you know what isn't healthy either? Standing around just moping and angsting! Cheer up!"

"Cheer up?" Annie asked, clenching her jaw. "Our friends just died, and you want us to just ' _cheer up_ '?!"

"What was it Seto said last time? Oh yes!" MonoWither's voice suddenly changed to a recording of Seto's, making the sorcerer flinch.

_"I think we should all just... take it easy, and relax as best as we can. Let's try to accept what's already happened and move on. We can't lose hope now, can we? We're in a bad situation at the moment, but we just have to make the best out of it. That's all we can do right now_ _."_

"I didn't mean just completely ignore the deaths of our friends," Seto defended angrily.

"Oh Seto, that's not what we're asking you to do! What we mean is that we need filler episodes right now, and you're going to give us some! Unless you want to give us the next death straight away?"

"No- No more deaths!" Bodil cried out, horrified. "Please no more!"

MonoWither cackled. "Yeah, that would ruin the pacing, and as proper hosts we can't allow that to happen! Of course, this show as a whole is specifically a trigger happy havoc murder mystery drama, but we need some breather episodes between each murder and trial, now don't we?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Jason shouted. "How can you treat all this like it's- it's just show business?!"

"Because THIS, IS, ENTERTAINMENT; LIES, ARE, ENTERTAINMENT- No? Never heard that song? Ugh, no one listens to real music these days... Anyway, just do whatever today. You can _plan_ a murder, in fact that is highly encouraged, but don't actually do it yet you eager, bloodthirsty fiends! Have some patience!" MonoWither laughed raucously.

"Stop it! None of us are going to murder anyone, and that's final!" Jason shouted.

"That ironic phrase has been said many times to no avail!" MonoWither countered.

"I trust that the rest of us won't hurt another. Not after what's happened twice before..." Bodil said fearfully.

"Oh, you still trust your friends even after all this? You think that the fact that everyone who attempted to escape by murdering another person failed will discourage others from trying? That's funny, hilarious even! You know oh so little about how this world really works!" MonoWither laughed before their eyes glowed red. "You want the truth about you guys?"

"T-Truth?!" Bonks echoed nervously. "What truth?!"

"The oh-so-despairing truth that we've been dying to reveal as a shocking plot twist! Okay then, here goes! Two participants among you... are actually dirty _spies_!"

 _Spies?!_ Seto thought with confusion. It seemed that he wasn't the only one.

"What do you mean by that? Spies?" Jordan asked dubiously.

"Yes, two among you are actually filthy, sneaky spies hiding things from everyone else!"

"You- You mean they're working for you?!" Annie exclaimed, her green eyes widening in horror.

"Upupupu! We guess you could say that... They may have even played a role in putting you all in here, you never know!"

"You're a liar!" Tyler declared. "None of us would ever work for you!"

"And once again you say the words of foolish denial!" MonoWither said. "But we know it'll take awhile for everything to sink in. We'll leave you alone to decide who to trust... and who to suspect... That's all for now, toodles!" MonoWither promptly disappeared.

A stunned silence engulfed the cafeteria.

"What do we do?!" Bodil asked, panicking. "Oh god- Is it true?! Are two of you spies?! Who- Who are they?!"

Ashley placed a hand on his shoulder. "Breathe. Panicking won't solve anything."

"This spy thing isn't important anyway..." Steven murmured, crossing his arms over his chest.

"How can it not be?!" Husky countered. "Two people here are working for MonoWither!"

"Yes, we need to find out who they are now!" Jason shouted.

"No, Steven is right. We must remain calm and think about this," Jordan urged. "How are we supposed to find the killer? Demand that they confess?" No one knew how to answer his question. "That's why it's impossible to deal with this now," he concluded.

"So what you're suggesting is that we just sit back and let the spies keep telling MonoWither things that should be kept secret?!" Annie asked. "What if the spies are suggesting to MonoWither motives that would affect us the most?!"

"N-No!" Bonks cried out, horrified. "Why- Why would anyone here do that?!"

"Well someone here might have!" Annie argued.

Seto felt chills run up and down his spine. Had the spies been the ones who found their darkest secrets? But who among them would know about his secret in particular? He had never told a single soul ever since he left that horrid place...

"Don't you see what MonoWither is doing?" Steven asked. "They're trying to set us against each other! They want us to distrust each other!"

"I agree," Tyler said. "Although it bothers me that... some of you could be betraying us... we can't go on a wild witch hunt. That won't get us anywhere."

Seto nodded. "Let's put the spy talk on hold. Now is not the time to be accusing each other. We don't even know if they're telling the truth, or if they just lied to get everyone worked up like we are now."

"...I just want us to live in peace for once..." Husky said quietly. "That's all I want, and the spies could ruin that... But you're right, arguing won't help us."

"So... what now?" Jason asked tentatively.

"Although... I definitely wouldn't have said it the way MonoWither did..." Bonks began hesitantly. "...I don't think we should keep staying here like this... all filled with despair..."

"What's the point?" Ashley asked bitterly. "Trying to 'stay hopeful' clearly didn't work last time..."

"But it's like what Seto said, isn't it?" Steven asked optimistically. "There's nothing else we can do... Everyone says that the third time's the charm, right?"

Ashley didn't reply.

"It wouldn't hurt to try again," Seto said finally. "We can't give up like MonoWither wants. We just have to stay determined..."

And on that note, everyone decided to leave.

* * *

The first thing they saw when they walked out the cafeteria were the two giant wooden signs on both of the elevator doors saying "DO NOT ENTER" in bold letters. "What are these?!" Tyler asked, bewildered.

 _"You can read, can't you?!"_ MonoWither asked suddenly. "You can't enter the elevator shafts anymore!"

"I mean they didn't really serve a function in the first place, but why not?" Annie asked skeptically.

"Because we don't want anybody snooping around on the upper floors before they're opened!" MonoWither replied. "So don't think about climbing up them, Ashley!"

"...I _do_ value my safety, you know..." Ashley muttered.

"Ahem! To clarify, the elevator doors on the first floor are glued shut with MonoWither's Special Paste! Totally edible, by the way, although it does taste rather gluey. Plus, there's a wire mesh between the third floor and the fourth floor in the shaft. This is what we've done to ensure that none of you climb up the shaft and enter the upper floors! So don't even try it! Just focus on planning murders! Please make the murder a good one too, we're sort of running out of ideas!"

Seto rolled his eyes and walked over to the nearby stairs, followed by everyone else. There was this strange satisfaction in simply ignoring MonoWither and their wild antics, Seto thought, as they made their way up to the second floor. When they reached the top, however, they all saw a familiar figure sitting on the steps that led to the third floor, hanging his head and staring at his lap.

"Ryan!" Husky cried out, running over to him.

When Seto approached Ryan, the first thing he noticed was the way he hadn't reacted even after Husky had shouted his name. Ryan lifted his head slightly, the only indication that he _had_ noticed them in the first place.

Seto's heart skipped a beat when he saw the empty expression in Ryan's face. His blue eyes, once fiery with electric passion, were now frozen over with dullness. They stared forward at nothing, appearing blank and vacant, with no signs of emotion whatsoever. There were dark bags under his eyes and his face was pale and tense. The longer Seto looked at him, the more uncomfortable he felt.

It just didn't seem natural for Ryan of all people to look like this. If it wasn't for the slight rise and fall of his chest and shoulders as he breathed, Ryan might have easily been mistaken for a dead person. Even Dave, a literal zombie, was far more lively than he was at the moment.

"Oh... Ryan..." Bonks said, biting her lip with sympathy.

No one really knew what to say, and the SDML Warden's unresponsiveness wasn't helping matters.

"Did you really not sleep last night?" Annie asked, concerned.

His silence answered the question.

Jason tried to say something. "Look, I know it's hard. We all miss them too, you know?"

Ryan's right hand trembled ever so slightly before he turned it over, revealing a dog tag lying on his palm.

 _Mitch's_ dog tag...

MonoWither must have given it to him, just like they'd given Seto Sky's amulet...

Ryan stared at it for a few moments before clutching it again tightly, grasping it as though it would disappear.

"Please Ryan, just talk to us..." Bodil whispered. "We're worried about you..."

Ryan didn't say a word.

"Just say something... anything?" Steven suggested.

Nothing.

Seto opened his mouth to say something, but Tyler interrupted him.

"You know it's not your fault, right?" Tyler asked softly.

Here, Ryan raised his head a little higher.

"It's not your fault..." Tyler repeated.

Ryan clenched his fists together tightly, but Tyler persisted.

"It's _not_. your fault. Do you hear me?"

Ryan abruptly stood up and everyone surrounding him stepped back in surprise as he coldly brushed past them. Tyler grit his teeth and stormed over to Ryan, reaching out and grabbing his arm to stop him. "Goddamn it, I'm _not_ letting you think the same shitty things that I did and shut yourself from the rest of us-"

Without warning, Ryan suddenly shook Tyler off, whirled around, and smacked him in the face so hard his glasses flew off and clattered several feet away onto the floor. Everyone gasped in shock and Bonks actually let out a scream of horror as Tyler crumpled to the ground, temporarily knocked out for a second.

" _Tyler!_ " Seto cried out, instinctively running over to Tyler before he could fully register what had just happened. He knelt down by Tyler as the man clutched the side of his head, groaning in pain. "Oh- Oh my god, are you okay?!"

From the corner of Seto's eye, he saw Ryan almost-mechanically turn around and walk away, making his way down the steps to the first floor. This time no one tried to stop him.

Tyler struggled to push himself up with shaking arms. Seto gripped his upper torso as he helped him sit in a kneeling position. "Tyler? Are you okay?" he asked, agitated.

"Ugh... That... fucking hurt..." Tyler moaned, pressing his hand against the spot where Ryan had struck him. "Ow... Why did he have to work out so much..."

"Here, let me see it," Seto muttered, prying Tyler's hand away from his head. Already there was a red mark in the shape of Ryan's handprint forming on the skin. Seto winced with sympathy, realizing exactly how hard Tyler had been slapped.

"Where are my glasses?" Tyler asked, squinting as he looked around. Steven quickly ran over and picked up the glasses before handing them back. Tyler put them on and blinked rapidly. "Oh good, they didn't break. I'd be screwed if they did, haha..."

"How badly does it hurt?" Seto demanded.

"Uh, not as much as a few seconds ago..." Tyler replied.

He started to stand up but Seto pushed him back down. "Look at me."

"You don't need to fuss over me so much Seto, I'm fine!" Tyler insisted.

Seto raised his pointer finger. "Look at the finger."

"I said I'm fine!"

"And I said 'look at the finger!'"

Tyler sighed. "Fine, I'm looking..."

Seto moved his finger back and forth and watched as Tyler followed the movement with no apparent difficulty. He pursed his lips together. "I think you're fine for now..."

"That's what I just said, _Mother_ ," Tyler muttered, rolling his eyes as he got to his feet with Seto's help.

Husky stood as though he was permanently rooted to the ground, utterly shocked. "I... I didn't expect Ryan would... lash out like that..."

"He isn't in his right state of mind," Ashley murmured sympathetically.

"But how can we help him like this?" Jason whispered. "Is he... angry at us? Does he blame us?"

"No, he blames himself," Tyler replied sadly.

"I don't think we should leave him alone, god knows what's going on in his head right now..." Annie said hesitantly.

"That may be true, but we should let him calm down first," Jordan suggested. "He isn't emotionally stable right now and could hurt someone else without thinking."

"...Poor Ryan..." Bonks whispered, staring dejectedly down at the floor.

"Yeah... poor Ryan..." Seto murmured.

"I wish there was some way we could show him that we could help..." Steven said quietly, clasping his hands together and wringing them. "But I don't know if he'll listen to us..."

"We just need to give him time," Tyler replied. "I'm sure he'll come around eventually..."

Without anything else to say, the group climbed up the steps to the third floor.

* * *

When they reached the third floor, they saw several rooms on the left end and a long, dark hallway on the right end. Naturally, they all paid attention to the latter

"What's that?" Jason asked, sounding slightly scared as he pointed at the ominous aisle. Everyone cautiously stepped closer to the hallway, noticing that there were iron doors on both sides of the cobblestone corridor.

"I don't want to know what are in these rooms..." Bonks whispered, her voice trembling.

"Yeah, it doesn't seem right," Jordan remarked.

"I- I saw something like this in a documentary before-" Bodil stammered, panic surging from his lips. "It turned out that in the rooms were separate torture chambers and they were filled with dead bodies that were torn apart-"

"Bodil, that was 'Herobrine's Haunting', not a documentary," Ashley deadpanned.

"But still! This all screams 'we have dead bodies inside of us, don't come in!'"

"Would MonoWither put something in these rooms that would actually harm us though?" Husky asked. "I mean I wouldn't put it past them, but so far other than the shop, all the rooms have been fairly innocent..."

 _"Upupupu! Well why don't you guys just find out yourselves?!"_ MonoWither asked. "What are in these doors? It's a mystery! And a mystery is no fun without a little bit of danger!"

"I'll go, since I'm a sorcerer," Seto said, walking up to the closest room and reaching for the lever.

"Oh, please don't do that!" MonoWither begged.

Seto squinted suspiciously. "Why not?"

"No reason in particular, it's just that..." Their red eyes gleamed maliciously. "We think _Steven_ should be the one to go in first..."

Singled out without warning, Steven jolted in sudden fright. "M-Me?! Why me?!"

"Why? Because we think you'll like what's in there! Think of it as an early birthday present!" MonoWither declared.

Steven began to shake like a leaf. "But- But-" he stammered, looking around at everyone and silently begging for someone to take his place.

"Now Seto, step back. Steven wants to see what his prize is!"

Seto caught the deadly undertone in MonoWither's voice and did as they said, but Bart and Dave both moved forward and glared at the machine.

"Uh uh uh!" MonoWither clucked disapprovingly. "Don't go with him! Steven's the one who should go, and he should go _alone_!"

Bart and Dave refused to step down, but Steven walked past them. "It... It'll be okay..." he said to them, swallowing down his nervousness. "I'm... I'm sure everything will be just fine... It'll all be okay! Just... trust me!" He forced a smile of determination, but it wavered.

"Steven? Be careful..." Bonks pleaded.

Steven nodded and took a deep breath before pulling the lever next to the iron door, which swung open to reveal a dark room. His legs trembled as he took one step into the room, and after a moment's hesitation, another. He was about five steps in the room when he suddenly stopped walking and tilted his head to listen for something. There was a pause before he started stepping backwards frantically. "Oh- Oh god no- Help! HELP!" he cried out desperately as several skeletons emerged from the darkness and approached him, nocking arrows onto their raised bows and aiming at him. Steven was paralyzed in fear, he couldn't seem to force his legs to run...

Before anyone else could react, Dave suddenly lunged forward and shoved Steven to the side. The zombie only had time to raise his arms in front of him before the skeletons fired their arrows at him. Dave let out a sharp howl that echoed chillingly as the arrows pierced his flesh.

Steven's hysterical scream as Dave's impaled body hit the ground was consumed with such an indescribable horror, it made everyone's blood run cold.


	26. Potions and Dances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep forgetting to mention that there is a separate book for alternative endings and miscellaneous scenes pertaining to Withering Hope. Please check it out!

_"DAVE!_ _DAAAVE_ _!!!"_ Steven screamed frantically, rushing to the zombie's side at the same time Bart ran over. The skeletons nocked their arrows and aimed at him once more, but Seto jumped in the room and formed a shield in front of them, blocking the projectiles. With an angered shout, Seto leapt ahead, his hands igniting with purple flames as he launched balls of energy at the skeletons and blasted every single one of them apart, spinning his body to give his blows more momentum. When he was sure every last skeleton was taken care of, he breathed heavily and turned around.

The first thing he saw was Steven hunched over Dave; however, Steven was actually staring at Seto with... fear? His dark eyes were hollow with terror as he gaped at Seto. Bewildered, Seto looked up and saw Bart giving him a similar expression. What was wrong?

He didn't have time to think about it more when Dave shifted faintly on the floor, distracting all of them. "Oh god- Oh god Dave? Dave, can you hear me?" Steven asked desperately.

Dave nodded slightly.

Seto noticed that both of his arms were crossed over his head, each of which sporting an arrow stained with dark blood. Relief washed over Seto as he realized that Dave had been smart enough to protect his most vulnerable area, although he was still severely injured and needed medical attention fast. In total there were 6 arrows littered all over his body.

"Th-Thank god... None of them got to your head..." Steven whispered. "But you're still hurt really bad..."

Bart knelt down and stared at Dave with an unreadable expression, but then gently rested his hand on Dave's forehead and smoothed his hair from his face.

"Aw, that didn't really turn out as entertaining as we expected..." MonoWither lamented.

Steven stiffened with anger. "You... You almost killed Dave!!!" Steven shrieked. "You almost killed him! How dare you?!"

"What, why so worked up over a zombie? There are tons of them out there! So you found the one defect that doesn't want to bite your head off, that doesn't mean you can just develop some emotional attachment to him!"

Bart flinched and Steven's pupils dilated. " _DAVE ISN'T A DEFECT!!!_ " he screamed, tears streaming down his face.

"Sure, sure, whatever you want to believe..." MonoWither said, rolling their eyes before grumbling. "I just wish he hadn't interfered with the surprise..."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Husky shouted.

"Those arrows would have hit Steven if Dave didn't push him away!" Bonks cried out.

"You purposely tried to get Steven killed!!!" Tyler yelled.

"But isn't Steven the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Mob Observer? We thought he'd be able to talk to the skeletons and befriend them! We thought he would feel right at home!"

"I- I can't talk to mobs!" Steven said in bewilderment.

"Oh please, you talk to them every single day! Live with them, even! Aren't you one of those monster sympathizers who say we should live in peace with mobs and be one with nature despite their inherent thirst for human blood?"

"Bart and Dave aren't monsters!" Steven insisted. "You're- You're the real monster here!"

Dave grabbed Steven's hand and moaned weakly, turning everyone's attention back to him.

Anguish filled Steven's voice. "Oh- Oh god- I'm sorry Dave, I don't know what to do, I can't think straight I-"

Bart placed his hand on Steven's back, tapping something. A message, perhaps? What ever it was, it made Steven relax slightly.

"He needs a Potion of Harming, and fast," Seto said. "MonoWither sells some in their shop, don't they?"

"Uh, no, they're- uh- not for sale anymore!" MonoWither stammered.

"At this point, that's just playing dirty," Jordan muttered darkly.

"Yeah, you can't just stop selling them just because we want to help someone with it!" Jason shouted.

"Ugh, fine, fine!" MonoWither snapped. "Seeing as I have no choice... We'll get one for you! You guys better pay up, they're 80 WitherCoins!" They disappeared.

"I'm sorry- I'm sorry Dave-" Steven blubbered. "I should have moved out of the way- I should have reacted faster, I-"

"Steven, calm down. He'll be fine," Ashley said.

Steven swallowed. "R-Right..."

"Pull the arrows out," Seto ordered.

Bodil looked confused. "But aren't you supposed to keep arrows in so he doesn't bleed-"

"Dave is a zombie, it's different," Seto replied. "Besides, we need to get the arrows out so that the potion works."

Steven hesitantly grabbed one of the arrows in Dave's arm. "Sorry if this hurts..." he said softly before tugging at the arrow.

Dave  _howled_ and Steven stopped, letting go as though the arrow had burned him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he shrieked wildly.

"Here, I'll do it," Annie said, kneeling down beside the zombie. With expertise, the SDML Archer carefully inserted her fingers into the wound, spreading it wider, before pulling out the arrow with minimal tugging.

"Th-Thank you..." Steven whispered.

"It's nothing," Annie replied as she promptly started on another.

Seto looked around, staring at the iron doors. Did each lead to a different room containing a different type of monster mob? If so, then this entire hallway was filled with monsters... But why?

Annie had just pulled out the last one when MonoWither returned. "All right, here's your Potion of Harming!" they grumbled, tossing the bottle at Steven.

Steven immediately pulled off the lid and almost poured the liquid onto one of Dave's wounds when Seto cried out, "STOP!!!"

Everyone looked at him, startled.

"Give me that," Seto muttered.

Steven wordlessly handed over the potion bottle. Seto swirled the contents, watching the liquid's thickness carefully. Then he wafted the scent, making sure not to sniff it directly from the bottle.

"...What kind of sick game do you think you're playing?" Seto asked, glaring up at MonoWither.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" MonoWither asked, tilting their heads curiously.

"Don't try to play innocent! This is a Potion of  _Healing_  with dark-red food coloring!" Seto shouted. "That could kill Dave for real!"

Steven gasped and covered his mouth with his hands, shocked and appalled. Bart actually bared his fangs and snarled at the machine.

"What the fuck?!" Jason shouted.

"Why do you want Dave to die so badly?!" Bonks wailed.

"For fuck's sake MonoWither, just give us a Potion of Harming like we asked!!!" Husky demanded.

"Why should we? Dave sacrificed himself for Steven, he should reap the consequences!" MonoWither said, huffing. "But if you really want to save him so badly, everything you need is on this floor! Hmph!" With that, MonoWither was gone.

"I- I can't believe I almost gave him that!!!" Steven bawled. "I almost killed him, I-"

"Everything we need is on this floor," Jordan interrupted. "We should explore it now and not waste any more time. Steven, you stay here with Bart while we-"

Ryan suddenly walked in, the sound of his footsteps making everyone turn around.

"Ryan!" Steven cried out in relief. "Dave's injured and he needs a Potion of Harming, fast! You already know what's on this floor, right?"

Ryan didn't respond. His face still held that dark emptiness...

"Ryan?" Tyler asked quietly. "Can you help us?"

Ryan turned around and walked away. Seto and the others hesitantly followed him as he crossed the floor and stopped in front of a room.

"In here?" Seto asked.

No response.

Seto used his e-Handbook to open the door and had to hold back a strangely ecstatic squeal that suddenly swelled up inside of him. He had no idea he was even capable of making that kind of sound.

"A brewing room!" Husky exclaimed. "Ryan, thank you, that's just what we needed-"

Everyone turned only to notice that Ryan was gone. The sound of his footsteps as he went down the stairs echoed hollowly.

"There's so much stuff here..."  Seto said, awestruck. Then he shook his head and forced himself to concentrate. "All right, a Potion of Harming needs water, a sprig of Nether Wart, a slice of Glistering Melon, and a Fermented Spider Eye," he said, striding over to a brewing stand. "Start finding those. Also, get glowstone dust to make the potion more potent."

"Here are the cauldrons for the water," Bodil said, running up to them.

Jason tentatively opened an oven. "Nether Wart's in here!" he called out, pulling out a warm pan of Nether Wart growing from Soul Sand.

"I found the melons!" Husky said, looking into the fridge.

Tyler opened a chest and took out a plastic box, practically tearing off the lid in his haste. "Nope, that's redstone dust," he muttered. He took out another box and opened it. "Oh, here's the glowstone dust!"

"What about the Fermented Spider Eye?" Seto asked.

Everyone else looked around, but couldn't find any.

"Where could they be?" Bonks asked.

"...The hallway," Seto replied. "If there's a room with skeletons, there must be a room with spiders."

"Ashley, Jordan, and I will find it!" Annie declared.

"But we don't have weapons," Ashley argued.

"Some of the skeletons dropped bows and arrows," Jordan replied.

"Exactly! Now let's go find those spiders and fast! Time is ticking!" Annie said. All three of them ran out of the room.

"All right, let's get started," Seto said hurriedly. "Bodil, I need some water."

Bodil grabbed a potion bottle and scooped water from the cauldron. "Here!" Bodil said, giving it to Seto.

Seto placed the bottle on the brewing stand and turned on the flames. "Jason, get me a sprig of Nether Wart that's preferably full-grown. The darker the red, the better."

Jason plucked one from the Soul Sand. "Is this one good?"

Seto glanced at it quickly. "Yeah, should be." He opened one of the cabinets and found a mortar and pestle before grinding up the sprig of Nether Wart, using his magic to keep the items levitated. "Husky, get a slice of Glistering Melon and cut it into squares-"

"Uh, I don't have a knife to cut up the melon..." Husky said, struggling to carry a whole melon.

Bonks paused before slowly pulling out a dagger. Seto's face paled when he saw the yin-and-yang symbol on the hilt. That was  _his_ dagger... the same one he'd used to attack her...

"Oh, that should be good!" Husky said, placing the melon on the table with a loud thud. He took the dagger and started cutting into the melon.

Seto stopped grinding the Nether Wart and checked to see that it was now a fine red powder. "You guys might want to step back," he warned before dumping the powder into the water. The water started to fizz and bubble as it reacted violently. A deep red steam formed and the smell of copper filled the air. Seto waved his hand and waited for the steam to dissipate.

"Here, I cut up the melon!" Husky said.

Seto ran over, picked up the cubes with his magic, and then dumped each one into the Awkward Potion. The liquid started to turn red. Normally he would take his time rather than rush, but they didn't have the luxury. Dave needed this potion fast. "Now all we need is the Spider Eye..."

The door slammed open. "All right, we got it!" Annie said. "Now all we need to do is ferment it!"

Tyler opened another box in the chest. "Sugar is here!" he called out.

"Mushrooms are in the fridge!" Husky shouted.

"All right, craft a Fermented Spider Eye for me," Seto said. "The potion's almost ready."

"That looks like a Healing Potion..." Bodil said hesitantly.

"It  _is_ a Healing Potion," Seto explained. "But a Fermented Spider Eye will corrupt its effects."

"Oh..."

When they were done, Seto put the Eye in the Healing Potion, which started to hiss and turn a dark, crimson red. As a final touch, he walked over to Tyler and took out a pinch of the glowstone dust before sprinkling it into the potion as well. He turned off the flames and swirled the contents.

"All right, this should be good," Seto said after a brief examination. "Now let's go-"

"Ugh, go away!" Jordan said, stepping away from something on the ground. A small green slime that only went up to Jordan's knee hopped towards him with a loud squelch.

"Aw, it likes you!" Bonks squealed.

"No it doesn't! It just wants a meal too big for its own size!" Jordan retorted.

"Let's go," Seto repeated, carrying the potion carefully as he left the room.

When they headed towards the hallway, Steven's head shot up as he looked up at them. "Ah! You made the potion!"

"How is he?" Ashley asked.

Dave groaned a little and Steven cringed. "He... He really needs that potion..."

"Pour a little bit on each of his wounds," Seto said as he gave Steven the bottle.

Steven gulped as he took the potion and slowly poured it onto the wound on Dave's left arm.

Dave let out a loud hiss and Steven quickly stopped, alarmed, before he noticed the wound begin to seal. A large sigh of relief filled the room. "It works!" Steven cried out happily before readily pouring the Potion of Harming on every single one of Dave's wounds. When Steven was done, Dave sat up and blinked. "Do you feel better?" Steven asked.

Dave stared at his arms before poking at his other healed wounds curiously. Then he nodded.

Steven embraced Dave, hugging him tightly. "I thought we were going to lose you!" he wailed tearfully. "I thought- I thought you were gone forever when those arrows hit you!!!"

Bart reached out and ruffled Dave's hair with his hand, a rare sign of affection from the Enderman.

Dave paused before hugging Steven back. Then he lowered his arms and reached into Steven's back pocket, pulling out his game controller.

Steven let go and gave him a disbelieving stare. "...You almost died, and you want to play video games."

The sound of the game controller turning on filled the room. Dave grinned wickedly before pressing several buttons.

Bart smacked Dave in the back of his head, glaring at him disapprovingly.

Steven rolled his eyes. "I don't... You're never going to stop until you find that hidden level in Ghast Blasters, aren't you."

Ghast Blaster's theme played triumphantly, answering his question.

"Well I'm glad everything turned out okay in the end," Jason said, relieved.

"Yeah, that was a close one..." Bodil said.

_"Oh, so you actually did it..."_

Everyone turned to see MonoWither hovering behind them. Steven instinctively shielded Dave with his own body, as though MonoWither would attack him yet again. 

"You actually saved Dave's life..." MonoWither continued. "Isn't that just  _wonderful_? So touching..."

"Yeah, since you wouldn't help us," Annie hissed.

"We really couldn't care less what happens to him," MonoWither explained. "We mean, he's just a zombie."

"He's  _not_ just a zombie!!!" Steven shrieked.

MonoWither laughed. "What kind of delusional thinking is this? Of course he's just a zombie! You really think he  _cares_ about you? He doesn't have a human soul! He's incapable of feeling a thing! How do you know one day he won't just snap and start eating you like a normal zombie would!"

Dave dropped the Gameboy, which clattered to the floor, and Seto could see the pixelated ghast in the 8-bit game blast the player into smithereens before the screen showed "GAME OVER".

Bart snarled angrily as he held Dave from behind. Dave, however, started to tremble violently.

Steven didn't say a word. All he did was curl his fingers into tight fists as he stared back at MonoWither, his black eyes filled with pure  _hatred_. Perhaps that was the scariest reaction of all, for Seto had never seen Steven this angry before...

"Well, we'll leave you guys alone for now. Take a break and explore the rest of the floor! There's a music room and a dance room. Quite fun if you ask us! If you need us, just give us a call!" MonoWither vanished.

"...Don't... listen... to them... Dave..." Steven whispered, a hardened look in his eyes. "You hear me? They're just trying to get a reaction... They're just like bullies... Good-for-nothing bullies... You're better than they are..."

Dave paused before nodding and picking up his Gameboy, rubbing the screen clean with his sleeve. Ghast Blaster's theme started playing again as he restarted the level.

"So... What do we do now?" Husky asked.

"Well there's the two other rooms MonoWither mentioned that we haven't explored yet," Seto responded. "We might as well see what they have. Oh, and Steven? Make sure Dave doesn't overexert himself, he could reopen his wounds if he's not careful."

"You got that, Dave?" Steven asked him.

Dave nodded as he continued to stare at the Gameboy.

"...I doubt he'll overexert himself at this rate," Ashley remarked.

Steven and Bart helped Dave stand up before they all left the hallway.

* * *

Their first stop was the music room. Seto noticed that there was a large concert stage in the back with a grand piano on top. In front, there were rows of chairs and music stands sitting about. 

"Wow, this is way bigger than I expected," Husky said, looking around.

Jason snickered. "You said the same thing to me last night..."

Seto choked on his own spit and Tyler glanced at him with a bemused expression.

"What was bigger than expected?" Steven asked, clueless. Bart immediately covered his ears with his hands. "H-Hey! Bart! Stop it! I'm not a baby!" Steven shouted, swatting his arms away.

"Jason! There are  _innocent_ people here!" Annie scolded.

Jason grinned sheepishly. "Whoops, sorry. Sometimes I just can't control what comes out of me."

"Yeah, I can attest to that because of last night," Husky remarked smoothly.

Seto burst into an uncontrollable coughing fit again and Tyler giggled.

Jason flushed a dark shade of red. "H-H-Husky!"

"...I'm confused. I probably shouldn't ask anymore," Steven muttered.

"Nope," Jordan agreed.

"You shouldn't," Bodil said.

"It's for your own good," Ashley stated.

Bonks patted Steven's shoulder. "Some things are just better left unknown..."

"I want to check out that piano..." Jordan muttered as he walked over to the stage. However, he heard something that made him turn around. "Will you just LEAVE ME ALONE???!!!" Jordan shrieked. The slime had returned, it seemed. "Ever since we went into the slime room this slime's been following me around nonstop!"

Steven looked at him curiously before noticing the slime. "Aw, it likes you!" he said, giggling.

"That's exactly what Bonks said! And no, it probably just wants to eat me somehow!"

"No, you've got it all wrong! That's just a baby slime! It must have imprinted on you and thinks you're its parent!" Steven replied giddily. "That is so adorable!"

Jordan stopped looking so angry and paused. "So... It doesn't want to eat me."

"Of course not! Besides, slimes don't eat, they absorb blood and other nutrients through the skin."

Jordan thought for a moment before picking up the slime and staring at it. "It  _is_ kinda cute, now that I know it isn't trying to kill me..." he admitted finally. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Slimes don't have gender," Steven replied.

"...Then I'll call you... Um... Jerry. How about that?"

Jerry responded by suddenly leaping from Jordan's hands and onto his head, bouncing happily.

Jordan stiffened in fear before realizing that it wasn't hurting him and chuckled. "I think Jerry likes its new name..." he said as he grabbed Jerry again and carried him over to the piano. He set Jerry down on top of the instrument before sitting down on the seat and tapping at a few keys experimentally. "It's kind of out of tune..." he muttered.

"So what are you gonna play?" Tyler asked.

"Uh... Maybe I'll play 'Take Back the Night'..." Jordan replied.

"Will you sing along?" Bonks inquired.

"Oh, I'm not really a singer..." Jordan said awkwardly. "Someone else could sing though."

"Ooh, Ashley could sing!" Annie suggested with a smirk.

Ashley's face paled. "N-No I can't!" she stammered. "I am horrible at singing!"

Bodil's tawny eyes lit up. "No you're not! I've heard you sing before!"

"Yeah, in elementary school!" Ashley snapped.

"But you sounded great!" Bodil argued.

"All I did was sing Dorothy's parts in 'Wizard of Oz'!"

"That's the lead role!" Bonks exclaimed in amazement. "You must be good!"

"Now we're all curious," Husky noted.

"Stay curious all you want, I'm not singing," Ashley muttered. "'Over the Rainbow' was such a sappy song anyway..."

"You can't leave us hanging like this!" Jason whined.

"Too bad!"

"Well no one else is going to sing," Seto pointed out. "And it would be a shame to leave Jordan without a singer..."

Ashley stared at Bodil, who was giving her a puppy-dog eyes expression. She frowned before sighing. "Ugh, fine... Seeing as I have no choice..."

Bodil let out a squeak of delight and Ashley cleared her throat as Jordan began to play.

_Closet_ _full of secrets and skeletons,_   
_Awakes but nothing's true..._

Everyone was stunned into silence by Ashley's voice, which was delicate but quiet and slightly unsteady. Nevertheless, Seto was reminded of birds happily singing in the trees. It was a far cry from her usual brashness...

_I used to own a castle, now it's boxes,_   
_That I have to move..._

Bodil had his hands clasped together in front of his chest as he gazed at her almost reverently. Ashley met his eyes before looking away awkwardly. Her singing started sounding more confident, however.  
  
 _Right here in the darkness there's nothing left,_  
 _For me to do..._

Jordan was focusing on his playing, engrossed by the music. His fingers were flowing across the black-and-white keys while his right foot pressed down on the pedals occasionally.

 _It's easier to run away, but today..._  
 _Today we got to..._    

Moved by the lyrics and melody, Seto closed his eyes and lost himself in the tune.

_Cast the shadows out from sight,_   
_A final stand, a shouting cry,_   
_All the wrongs now turned to right,_   
_So fight the past,_   
_Take back the night!_

_And call upon the torch tonight!_   
_To bring out all the ghosts to light!_   
_Because at last we have to go, it's time..._

_...To take back the night-_

At this point Jerry suddenly leapt from its seat and onto the keys, causing a jarring sound of dissonant notes that made everyone jump. Jordan burst into laughter. "Jerry! You ruined the song!"

Jerry began to hop along the keyboard ecstatically, making more discordant sounds.

"All right, that's it, no more singing from me," Ashley said as she walked off the stage.

Bodil started to clap with glee and everyone else followed suit. 

"That was really good!" Seto complimented.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Aha... Really funny..."

"No, it actually was!" Tyler said.

"Best singing I've heard in awhile," Husky said.

"Yeah, you should sing more!" Jason suggested.

Ashley didn't respond, but she did look a little flustered.

Dave sat down on the piano seat next to Jordan, staring at the keys attentively. Jordan gave Dave a strange look. "Do you, uh, wanna play?"

Dave nodded.

Bart looked up at the ceiling with a done expression and Steven's eyes widened in horror. "Oh no, don't let him play!"

"Why not?" Bonks asked, confused.

Steven's face turned red. "You- You see- he only knows how to play one song, and- and it's- Dave, don't-!"

Dave pounded on the keys and started playing a tune that Seto faintly recognized. There was a few seconds of confusion before groans filled the room.

"Are you kidding me?" Annie complained.

"No, why?! WHY?!" Bodil lamented.

"THIS MADNESS NEEDS TO STOP!!!" Husky shrieked.

"I WENT SO LONG WITHOUT HEARING THIS, WHY DID MY STREAK HAVE TO END???!!!" Jason wailed.

Bart pulled Dave off the seat despite the zombie's wriggling in an attempt to escape his grip. Dave shook off Bart and landed on the floor, raised his arms and dabbed, before proudly walking away. Steven looked positively mortified, but Bonks was giggling.

"I can't believe it..." Jordan muttered, laughing.

"We all just got  _rickrolled_..." Tyler chuckled.  

"Rickrolled?" Seto asked, confused.

"It's when you play this song by Rick Astley to someone when they don't expect it," Bonks replied.

"Oh..." Seto said, trailing off.

"You don't know what that meme is?" Bodil asked.

"Meme?" Seto echoed, now even more confused.

"Oh Seto, you're so innocent!" Tyler cackled.

Seto flushed red. "I am- I am not innocent!"

"He doesn't know about the  _memes_!" Jason exclaimed.

"The memes!" Husky repeated.

 "For the longest time I thought they were pronounced 'me-mes'," Ashley admitted. 

Seto looked incredibly lost at this point. 

"They're just internet jokes that get copied by others and passed around," Annie explained finally.

"...Oh..." Seto said again, still incredibly confused but not exactly willing to press further.

Why did his friends have to be so weird sometimes?

* * *

The dance room was filled with loudspeakers and had a platform in the back with a large DJ mixer on top. There was a dance floor with different-colored squares, presumably able to light up.

Seto looked up at the ceiling to see a disco ball surrounded by star-shaped ornaments, dusted with silver glitter, that twinkled brightly as they dangled in the air.

Husky stood on his tiptoes and reached up to pluck one of the lower ones off its hook. He then bowed dramatically and presented it to Jason. "The brightest star in the galaxy for you, m'lady..." he said in a posh accent.

Jason snickered as he took it. "Oh kind sir, are you saying that  _you're_ not the brightest star?" he asked, covering his mouth with his hand.

"M-M'lady-!" Husky stammered. "You flatter me!"

"Tis the truth, sir!"

They stared at each other before bursting into giddy peals of laughter.

"I wonder what music there is..." Jordan said to himself. He walked over to the DJ mixer and pressed a random button. All of a sudden music blared from the loudspeakers at the highest possible volume, making Jerry wobble uncontrollably.

 _"GODDAMN THIS SHIT ALL TO HELL WHAT THE FUCK???!!!"_  Steven shrieked, clamping his hands over his ears.

Jordan quickly found the dial and turned the volume down to a more moderate level.

Everyone turned to stare at Steven with bewilderment. Bart facepalmed and Dave started clapping slowly. Steven's face flushed as red as a beet. "Oh- Oh no- I'm sorry-" he stammered frantically, his eyes darting back and forth. "Ex-Excuse my language- I didn't mean to- to curse like that-"

"What kind of song is this?" Ashley interrupted, a disturbed look crossing her face.  
 **  
(<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5kXzOhPubM> for the tune)**

_Let's kill merrily, we don't need the adults~!_

_Can we make one hundred corpses~? Let's have a competition~!_

Seto felt chills run down his spine. "Is that... children singing?!" he asked, horrified.

It certainly sounded like a couple of young children were singing gleefully at the top of their lungs.

_If there's MonoWither, we are invincible~!_   
_Let's play with MonoWither, always~!!!_

"What- What the hell is this?!" Tyler shrieked.

_Let's kill with a smile. We killed all the adults~!_   
_Let's gather the corpses and make mountains, graveyards of adults~~~!!!_

Bodil shoved his hands over his ears. "I'M SCARED!!!" he shrieked, trembling.

_Hunt! Hunt! MonoWither!_

Bonks started whimpering in fear and Annie patted her back comfortingly, although she was equally appalled.

_Torment! Torment! MonoWither!_

Jason and Husky gave each other horrified glances as they shook with fear.

_If we all sing together, the blood will_ _overflooow_ _~!_

MonoWither suddenly appeared with a cackle, making quite a few people scream in shock. "WOOOH!!! THIS IS OUR JAM!!!" They started singing uproariously with the next verse.

_With MonoWither, let's all_ _smile~!_   
_Let's play with MonoWither, always_ _~!_

_Let's play with MonoWither, alwaaays_ _~~~!!!_

"TURN IT OFF!!! JUST TURN IT OFF!!!" Steven begged.

Jordan didn't need to think twice before he muted the volume. "What the... What the hell was that?!" he asked in a faint voice.

"That was our lovely song called 'Let's Play With MonoWither'! Wasn't it great?!" MonoWither asked cheerfully.

"G-Great? That was fucking horrifying!!!" Husky shouted.

"Were those actually little kids singing?" Jason asked with apprehension.

"Of course those were real kids! Those darling children, ah... Such angels, the lot of them!" MonoWither said proudly.

 "Those lyrics aren't exactly child-friendly!" Tyler snapped.  

"Why would kids sing that kind of song for you?" Bonks questioned fearfully.

"Why? Because they love us of course! Anyway, now's not the time to talk about those kids, that's a story for later! We're just here to warn you not to turn everything on! In case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of technical equipment here! For instance, there's the disco ball, the dance floor, the strobe lights, the loudspeakers, the DJ mixer, et cetera et cetera! It starts to get pretty hot in here after awhile! Of course, you can always turn on the AC..."

"Just go away..." Ashley muttered in annoyance.

"Wah! Why do you hate us so? We just want to join in the fun!" MonoWither wailed.

"No one likes it when you show up!" Annie yelled. "Now scram!"

MonoWither let out a pitiful whine before disappearing again.

"Every time I think I'm used to them, they just make everything worse..." Jordan said quietly.

"I just wish we could make them leave us alone forever!" Bodil complained.

"They always have to ruin everything..." Husky murmured.

"...Come on guys..." Seto pleaded. "We can't let MonoWither ruin our mood like this."

"Seto's right," Tyler said, nodding his head. "The best way to combat MonoWither is to just not give them any attention! We have to look at the bright side!"

"Yeah, besides the, uh, questionable choice of music here, I think this dance room is actually pretty nice!" Jason said optimistically. "It's a little bit more cramped than I'm used to, but hey! Looking on the bright side here as Tyler said!"

Steven looked around. "Now that you mention it- OH GOD!!!" Steven practically jumped as he recoiled in shock, only to see that Dave was the one who had grabbed his arm. "Oh- Oh my god Dave! I thought you were someone else, why is your hand so warm?!"

Dave grinned as he let go of Steven's arm, placed his hand on the loudspeaker for a few seconds, before grabbing Steven's arm again. Bart stared at him before closing his eyes and looking at the ceiling, done with everything once again.

"...I'm just not going to question you anymore," Steven muttered.

"Hey Seto, are those... potion bottles?" Tyler asked confusedly as he pointed at a shelf to the side. "What are they for? Why would a dance room need potions?"

"I don't think I've ever seen these types of potions before," Seto said, bewildered. He picked up one bottle and saw that it was labeled  _Quickstep_. "What in the world?"  

Steven took one look at them and flinched. "Oh no... Not these again..."

"You know what they are?" Bodil asked.

"They're... um... dancing potions..." Steven replied awkwardly.

"Potions for dancing? How does that work?" Bonks asked, tilting her head curiously.

"So there was this crazy witch who trapped us in her hut and wouldn't let us out until we-" Steven was promptly interrupted by the sound of glass shattering by his feet. His body contorted as he suddenly grabbed Bonks' hands and spun her around. "AHHH!!! DAVE WHY???!!!" Steven shrieked.

Dave grinned mischievously as he clutched another potion bottle in his hands.

Bonks, also affected by the potion, spun around on one foot with expertise before holding onto Steven's shoulders. "I- I think this is ballet?!" she stammered frantically.

"Nope, the label said 'Foxtrot'," Annie replied cheekily.

"WELL HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS STOP???!!!" Steven asked desperately. Bonks' right hand and Steven's left hand were now clasped outwards while their other hands were resting on their shoulders as they zig-zagged across the dance floor.

"Oh, it'll wear off eventually," Annie said with a casual wave of her hand. "Hey, throw the swing one at Starfish."

Husky raised an eyebrow. "Starfish? What do you mean by that- AGH!" Husky suddenly screamed as Dave threw another potion bottle at them. Husky grabbed Jason's waist and hoisted him into the air. 

"WOAH!" Jason cried out as he spread his legs for a second before landing on the ground. They held each other's hands and spun around the dance floor wildly, almost crashing into Steven and Bonks. "WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENIIING???!!!" he shrieked as Husky took his finger and spun him around three times. 

"What, are you afraid I'm gonna drop you?" Husky asked, smirking at him.

" _YES!!!_ " Jason replied with his eyes squeezed tightly shut, hanging onto Husky's shoulders for dear life as Husky leaned him backwards.

Ashley's eyes widened as both Dave and Annie turned to face her and Bodil. "Oh no you don't-"

_-CRASH!-_

Bodil and Ashley took a position similar to Steven and Bonks as they clasped their hands together, only their tempo was slower and they spun around in a more circular rather than linear fashion. "Eep!" Bodil squeaked as he found himself physically closer to Ashley than he'd ever expected to be.

"I'm getting revenge for this afterwards, Annie!" Ashley shouted angrily.

Annie giggled. "You'll thank me later!"

"Uh- Uh sorry you had to um- um- get caught dancing with me!" Bodil wailed. "I'm a horrible dancer, during high school prom I accidentally pushed my date into the food table-"

"More like she was the one who fell over because she drank some of the punch and it was spiked by Simon and Baki," Ashley replied, rolling her eyes.

"Well I definitely didn't help with my horrible dancing!"

"...Just don't step on my feet," Ashley muttered as they waltzed around the dance floor.

"I- I won't-! At least- At least I think the potion takes care of that..." Bodil replied frantically.

"Exactly, so just relax and don't worry about it."

"O-Okay..."

Seto watched the whole spectacle, bemused by everyone's reactions, and also wondered exactly what was going on in the brewer's head when they invented this type of potion.

"Annie? Dave? What are you doing?" Tyler asked, an uneasy tone suddenly filling his voice.

Seto barely had time to see Dave throw the potion before it shattered by them. Before he knew it, he let out a squeal of surprise as Tyler held onto him and spun him around.

"Time for both of you to dance the quickstep!" Annie shouted giddily.

Seto's limbs seemed to move on their own accord as he and Tyler, well, quickly stepped around the dance floor, which was now flashing all different sorts of colors. This "quickstep" seemed a lot faster than even Steven and Bonks' foxtrot was. But Seto was no dancer, so he had little clue exactly what was going on.

Suddenly realizing how close they were, Seto felt his face turn hot with flustered embarrassment.

"So... you've never known about these potions, huh?" Tyler asked after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"No, and I wish that never changed," Seto replied sarcastically, praying that Tyler couldn't feel or hear how fast his heart was beating.

"I wonder what the brewer was thinking when he invented this..."

"I was wondering the same thing, and I've come to the conclusion that he was probably thinking, 'How can I make people's lives more awkward than they need to be?'" Seto grumbled.

"At least I'm used to dancing with people. I acted in this movie once where my character had to dance with the lead girl. They hired a tango instructor and everything. I've never danced quickstep before though."

"Well I know next to nothing about dancing. Tango, foxtrot, waltz, swing, quickstep, I don't know what's going on anymore..." Seto sighed.

Tyler chuckled. "Well, as the great Elizabeth Bennet once said to Mr. Darcy, dancing encourages affection even if one's partner is barely tolerable."

"I don't recall that line being in the book."

"Oh, so you actually read the book? I only watched the movie."

" _Pride and Prejudice_ is a classic, of course I read it. It's not really my type of story, though. Never watched the movie either."

"Well my point still stands."

"...Are you saying that I'm Mr. Darcy?" Seto deadpanned.

"Well I'm sure that behind that prickly mask of aloofness there's a kindhearted soul," Tyler joked.

"I am not a proud person like Mr. Darcy at all. At least I have the decency to dance with someone below my station."

"Wh- Excuse me?!" Tyler asked, his eyes widening in shock.

For a moment Seto thought he'd gone too far with the joke and stammered frantically. "N-Not that- that I was serious about that- um-"

Tyler frowned slightly. "Woah, hey, it's fine. I get that you were joking."

Seto sighed in relief.

"Because there's no way you're above my station," he continued conceitedly.

"...You know, if the potion didn't prevent us from breaking this dance position, you wouldn't be looking so smug right now."

Tyler snickered and changed the subject. "Well, it seems like Annie and Dave are having fun playing matchmaker."

Seto rolled his eyes. "Oh I wouldn't doubt it..."

"Oooh my god Jordan, I feel like Christmas just came early..." Annie said ecstatically in the distance, her eyes lit up with excitement.

"Hmm. You two made good choices with the pairings," Jordan replied, smiling.

 Annie and Dave high-fived while Bart looked on, mildly amused.

Seto's eyes followed where Bart was looking and saw that Bonks was laughing joyfully. Steven's face was slightly red as he stared at her, and Seto had a feeling it wasn't because of the energy spent while dancing. Nevertheless, Steven was laughing as well, and after the terrible incident that had happened earlier today Seto was glad that Steven was enjoying himself now.

Jason and Husky were still dancing blazingly fast. Seto had no idea how the potion allowed Jason to make such stunning acrobatics, but it was definitely a sight to behold. Jason looked like he was about to reach the glittering stars hanging high on the top of the ceiling. Both of them were giggling to themselves, having the time of their life.

Bodil and Ashley were dancing the slowest out of all of them. As they smoothly spun around the dance floor, they weren't saying a word, yet it seemed like the rest of the room had faded away for the two. Bodil's eyes were closed, a blissful smile on his lips as he swayed back and forth. Ashley stared down at him, her expression unreadable, but she wasn't paying attention to anything else.

It all seemed rather surreal to Seto. It was like time had slowed to a crawl. All the despair surrounding them, all the horrible things that had happened in the recent days, for this one instant in this small room they all seemed to vanish. Everything seemed rather dreamlike to Seto, and for some reason he felt like they could just keep on dancing forever and ever and get rid of all of their woes and misfortunes...

But then Bonks stumbled as she tripped over Steven's feet and he had to steady her, Husky failed to catch Jason (who landed on the ground with a pained yelp) after throwing him high in the air, Bodil fell to the floor after Ashley's arms slipped and accidentally let go of him, and Seto and Tyler eventually slowed to a stop when the potions wore off.

"Aw, they only lasted for five minutes," Annie complained.

"...You have ten seconds to run," Ashley muttered. "I said I'd get my revenge after this and I always keep my word."

"But Dave's the one who started it!" she argued. Ashley shook her head before chasing after Annie, who fled from the dance room as she screamed and laughed hysterically.  _"YOU KNOW YOU LIKED IT!!!"_

"Well, that was fun," Tyler said, letting go of him.

"...Yeah. It was," Seto replied, his voice strangely hollow.

As the room dissolved into happy chatter, it suddenly occurred to Seto that everyone had actually worked together in order to save Dave. They hadn't argued or accused each other of being spies, but had instead cooperated peacefully. He felt hope swell up inside of him as he realized that it  _was_ possible for them to live in harmony...  

...

...But could it last forever? Or was it only temporary, just like their short dance?

* * *

**MONOWITHER THEATER**

**Contrary to popular belief, Potions of Healing are not always effective. Movies, books, and video games may have you think that they're capable of healing any wound or injury no matter how drastic, but that is simply not so! To understand why, we will explain to you exactly what these potions do to your body.**

**Potions of Healing are incredibly efficient at sealing wounds and stopping blood loss by increasing the fibrin process hundreds of thousands of times their normal speed. Healing potions are also used to heal broken bones, as long as the bones are set right!**

**However, not all wounds are possible to seal. Sometimes the wound is just too big, or perhaps poison was involved. Potions of Healing can slow down poison, but can't stop it completely. Nevertheless, Potions of Healing can keep you alive for just a little bit longer until you reach the nearest hospital, so it's always good to have one on you in case a terrible accident happens!**

**This was your helpful PSA of the day!**


	27. Sweet Dreams

_Seto found himself curled up in a grassy yard. He blinked in confusion before sitting up and looking around, only to see that he was in front of a building lightly decorated with flowers. "Ms. Nancy's Orphanage for Children" was the sign._

Oh, I must have fallen asleep outside again...

_Sure enough, that's when he heard the door open. "Seto! What on Earth are you still doing outside?!" a rather-bosomy middle-aged lady exclaimed, hair rollers still tangled in her blond hair._

_The boy stood up and brushed the stray blades of grass and dirt from his white cloak. "S-Sorry Ms. Nancy!" he apologized._

_Ms. Nancy ran down the steps and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Come inside, child, you'll catch a cold!"_

_Seto sniffled. "No, I'll be fine. My cloak is warm!"_

_Ms. Nancy stopped guiding him up the frost-coated steps and traced the red heart on the child's white cloak. "Your heart is strong, but...?"_

_"...I still need to take care of myself," Seto finished sheepishly._

_Ms. Nancy smiled and ruffled his curly brown hair. "That's right, my child. Now come inside-"_

_Seto suddenly looked across the yard and saw a man wearing a black cloak walking away from the orphanage. "W-Wait-! Daddy!" Without a second thought he pulled away from Ms. Nancy and sprinted across the yard, tugging open the fence gate and chasing after the man._

_The man continued to walk away, not looking back for an instant._

_"Daddy! Daddy wait! Daddy!" Seto screamed. Without warning, someone grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. "No Ms. Nancy, that's-!" Seto turned around and found himself staring into the charred face of someone who was most definitely not_ _Ms. Nancy._

_Seto staggered away. "S-Seth?" he asked quietly._

_"You let me die for nothing..." Seth growled, anger flaring in his dark eyes._

_"What? N-No! I didn't-"_

_"I died trying to save everyone and you let them get killed anyway!" Seth shrieked._

_"No! Stop it!" Seto cried out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I-_ _"_

_"Seto..."_

_Seto whirled around and saw Jade walking towards him. Blood dripped from the corners of her mouth, and when she spoke the crimson spread down to stain her blue dress. "I trusted you to catch the thief... But you failed... It's all your fault I'm dead!" Jade ran forward and grabbed Seto's arm, staining the white cloak with her bloody handprints. "It's all your fault!"_

_"I'm- I'm sorry Jade- I tried-"_

_"YOU DIDN'T TRY ENOUGH! I HATE YOU!"_

_Seto_ _tore his arm away and fled. "Daddy! Daddy come back!" he pleaded desperately. The man in the black cloak was now further away. Seto tried closing the distance between them when someone tackled him from the side. Seto looked up and saw Sky glaring down at him. He was covered with dark, oozing stab wounds._

_"I can't believe I ever saw you as a friend," Sky said, shaking his head with disapproval. "You sentenced me to death. You did this to me..."_

_"I'm sorry..." Seto whispered, tears streaming down his face. "P-Please understand-"_

_"Maybe I should have just let you kill yourself a long time ago!" Sky screamed._

_Seto choked out a sob as he scrambled to his feet once again. "No- No no no- Please- Please forgive me!" He looked up and realized that the black-cloaked man was even further away, disappearing into a thick fog. "DADDY! DADDY HELP ME!" He breathed heavily as he struggled to move forward towards the man, but his legs were growing sluggish._

_"Hey Seto..."_

_"...remember us?"_

_Seto stopped and saw two familiar figures emerge from the mist. Jerome's stab wound was coated with blood, but it was Mitch's injuries that were far more gruesome._

_"You helped make those enhancement potions, didn't you?" Mitch asked, his ribs sticking out of his sliced chest. "You... ruined my life..."_

_"It's all your fault..." Jerome said, baring his fangs. "You're a monster..."_

_"All your fault..."_

_Seto turned around and saw everyone else staggering towards him, surrounding him. To his horror, their bodies were decaying now._

**_"All your fault..."_ **

**_"Monster... Monster..."_ **

**_"All your fault..."_ **

**_"Monster..."_ **

_Seto shook his head repeatedly, his breath coming out in short gasps of terror as his pupils darted back and forth. "No- It's not my fault- Stop it-! Stop it! Get away from me!" Seto tried to run away but suddenly Jerome snarled and slashed his face with his claws. The sorcerer stumbled backwards, panting heavily as he brought a hand to his now-bleeding cheek. "I'm sorry..." Seto whimpered, unable to meet the eyes of the people circling him. "Please... I didn't mean to let any of this happen..."_

**_"It's all your fault, Seto..."_ **

**_"You're a monster..."_ **

**_"You don't deserve to live..."_ **

**_"It's all your fault..."_ **

_Seto looked up and realized that they were all reaching out to grab him. He felt panic surge up in his chest. "No- Get away from me- Don't make me do this!"_

**_"You deserve this..."_ **

_He let out a shriek of anguish before forming a huge purple ball of energy that rapidly expanded around him, sending all five people flying backwards. When Seto looked again, they were gone._

_"I'm sorry- I'm sorry- I'm sorry-" Seto repeated almost deliriously, his tears obscuring his vision._

_The roaring sound of a rushing river filled his ears as t_ _he fog cleared, revealing a familiar bridge in front of him. Seto saw the black-cloaked man standing on the edge of the bridge, arms raised, legs bent, poised to jump..._

_"DADDY!" Seto howled, running forward as fast as his desperate legs could take him. "DADDY NO! DADDY!" He practically leapt towards the man and wrapped his trembling arms around the side of his torso. "Don't- Don't leave me!" he cried out, burying his face in the man's cloak and bursting into choking sobs. "Don't leave me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything, just don't abandon me!"_

_The man gradually lowered his arms and ran his pale, slender fingers through Seto's feathery hair soothingly. "Oh Seto... I would never leave you..." he said reassuringly, a warm, tender smile present in his voice._

_Seto wept tears of joy and tightened his needy embrace, sighing with relief. "I love you Daddy..."_

_"I love you too, my son..."_

_"Don't leave me..."_

_The hand stroking Seto's hair suddenly clenched painfully, making Seto cry out. "Don't... leave you?"_

_Seto felt icy chills seep down into his gut at the sound of that malevolent voice._

_Still holding onto Seto's hair, the man tugged Seto away and stared down at him with his poisonous-green eyes._

_"M-Master..." Seto whispered, paralyzed with fear._

_Master Hennessy hurled the child down onto the cobblestone floor. "You are the most insufferably painful waste of space... A failed experiment, that's all you are." He kicked the boy hard against his ribs, making Seto scream. He couldn't do anything to block the relentless blows that sent pain shooting through his whole frail body. "You're a failure to me! Useless! I should have killed you a long time ago instead of wasting my time with you!"_

_"N-No- Master- Please don't leave me-" Seto begged, his face twisting with agony. "I promise I'll do better, I promise I'll be more obedient, just don't leave me-"_

_Master Hennessy pulled out a sharp dagger and lightly stroked his finger over the thin, sharp blade. "How could I not leave you? You're good for absolutely nothing at all..."_

_"Please- Please don't- I'll do anything you ask- I promise- anything- anything you wish for me to do- I'll do it- I won't hesitate-"_

_"You failed me one too many times. It's a shame, really. I thought you'd be stronger, since you're my nephew. But now I know that blood is all that connects us as kin; you're pathetic, just like your father was."_

_"D-Daddy... wasn't pathetic..." Seto whispered._

_"What did you say?!"_

_"I- I didn't say anything! Don't abandon me! Please!"_ _Seto was full-on sobbing by now._ _"I'll- I'll stop being disobedient- I'll kill anyone you ask me to- I'll make every potion without a single mistake- Please-"_

 _"Well, I'm afraid I've already given you too many chances... You've long since served your purpose, and now I know what I can do to make a_ better _servant..."_

_Before Seto could react, Master Hennessy plunged the dagger straight into his gut, sticking the blade up under his ribs and into his vital organs. Surprisingly, Seto didn't feel pain. He just felt a rapid numbness spread all over his body as he stiffened with shock. Master Hennessy smirked as he grabbed his shoulder and pushed him over the edge of the bridge where the cold, watery depths of the river awaited him. Seto heard the raucous laughter of his dead friends, his father, Master Hennessy, MonoWither, and even Ms. Nancy as he fell down, down, down..._

Seto shot up with a jolt and gasped wildly for air, his hand instinctively pressing onto the center of his body where Master Hennessy had stabbed him. He turned on the lamp and took deep, shuddering breaths in an effort to calm himself down.

A dream. That's all it was. A stupid nightmare made by the random conjurations of his mind as he slept. It wasn't real. It wasn't real...

But even though it wasn't real, he just couldn't shake off the horrible feeling from the dream. Even now he couldn't stop thinking about the decaying bodies of his dead friends, the cold damp mist that clung onto his skin, the way Master Hennessy's knife had penetrated his body, the sinking feeling in his stomach as he fell such a long way down...

Seto glanced at the time and saw that it was almost 6:30. Maybe a walk by himself would help clear his mind and calm him down. He got out of bed, slipped on his cloak, before stepping outside the room. As he walked down the hallway, he tried not to notice how the doorplates of the dead participants were all crossed out with a red "X"...

 _"_ _Well_ _gooooood_ _morning to you, Seto!"_ MonoWither exclaimed, suddenly flying up to Seto's right. Seto yelped as he jerked away, his body slamming against someone's door in the process. "Tee-hee! Looks like someone's jumpy today!"

Seto picked himself up and glared sullenly at the machine. "...Go away."

MonoWither giggled. "Why?"

Seto ignored the machine as he kept walking past them.

"Aw, aren't you going to talk about that little nightmare you had?" MonoWither asked mockingly.

Seto didn't reply.

"Wow, someone's got daddy issues, huh?"

Seto stopped walking and instinctively balled his hands into fists, inhaling sharply.

"Daddy was a deadbeat, huh?"

"No he wasn't!" Seto yelled, fury boiling in his throat.

"Really? Then why'd he abandon you in that orphanage?"

"He did it because he _cared_ about me! He couldn't support me anymore, that's why he did it!" Seto shrieked. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that MonoWither was seeking such a violent reaction from him, but he couldn't stop himself.

"Ohhh, so it's _that_ kind of backstory... A father giving up his child to an orphanage because he doesn't have enough money to feed both of them... We bet it was during the wintertime, right? No room in the shelters, huh? And he couldn't bear to see you starving and freezing..."

Seto glowered at the machine, struggling not to tear up at the memory.

"But is that really why he did it? We mean, someone told us he jumped off a bridge right after leaving you there..."

There was surprisingly no visible reaction. There was only silence for a few moments before Seto spoke again.

"...Who told you that?"

"Come on, we know all about your little secret, obviously we know everything about your past!" MonoWither exclaimed. "It was a little difficult digging everything up, but we did our research and managed to find this tiny local news article about a homeless man jumping off a bridge, tragically leaving behind his newly-orphaned son..."

Seto forced himself to breathe steadily.

"But going back to our earlier point... Seems rather strange that he would just kill himself right after leaving you, huh? If you asked us, it seems more like he was just sick of you..."

Seto clenched his jaw and looked away.

"Have you ever thought that maybe it was you who ruined everything in his life? He lost his wife because of you, he couldn't support himself because he had to take care of you... You probably sucked away all of his will to live! And then you went on, causing despair wherever you went..."

MonoWither leaned closer and their voice dropped to a low, menacing tone.

"Let's face it, Seto, everything was your fault. Not just the deaths of your parents, but of your friends too. Don't try to deny it, we heard you in your sleep! You know that's the hopeless truth!"

Seto's fists were clutched so tightly, his knuckles were white and his fingernails were digging red crescent moons into his palms. Purple sparks began shooting from his hands as he desperately attempted to contain himself.

"Oooh, did we hurt your feelings? Did we make you feel bad? Do you want to fight us? Well go ahead, we won't stop you from trying! Maybe the resulting punishment will be best for everyone, since everyone can live in peace and harmony without y-"

_"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!"_

Both Seto and MonoWither whirled around to see Tyler standing outside his door. The door that Seto had crashed into earlier...

Seto had never seen Tyler look so utterly _livid_ before. "What are you doing to him?!" Tyler demanded angrily, storming over to them.

MonoWither briefly sighed with frustration before resuming their cheerful tone. "N-Nothing, just accompanying Seto for a pleasant morning walk!"

Tyler glanced over to look at Seto and their eyes met. Seto saw the look of pain form in Tyler's eyes, realized that he probably looked like an emotional mess, and turned away, slightly mortified. "...Leave him alone," Tyler hissed, turning back to glare at MonoWither.

"Why?"

"I said _LEAVE HIM ALONE!_ " Tyler shouted. "He- He doesn't need to listen to your stupid bullshit! What the hell is wrong with you, you sadistic fuck?!"

"Fine, fine! Ruin the moment, see if we care! Hmph!" MonoWither grumbled before disappearing.

Tyler ran up to Seto. "D-Dude... you okay?"

He tried putting a hand on Seto's shoulder to comfort him, but Seto winced and shook him off before staring down at the ground. "...Yeah."

"Did they... hurt you?"

Seto shook his head. "I'm fine," he said with a hollow voice.

Tyler narrowed his eyebrows. "I only heard the last part of what they said, but it was total bullshit okay? What MonoWither said wasn't true at all, nothing was your fault, don't let it bother you-"

"It didn't bother me."

"It didn't?"

"Nope."

"Well..." Tyler suddenly reached out and gently touched Seto's cheek, making Seto flinch and draw back. "...you're crying, so..."

Seto stubbornly wiped the tear tracks away, accidentally sniffling in the process. "No I'm not."

Tyler chuckled a little. "Okay, who's the one who said 'don't lie about your feelings?'"

"I don't recall ever saying that I had to follow my own advice," Seto said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. He started walking away, intent on just roaming around aimlessly, but Tyler insisted on accompanying him.

"You don't follow what you say to others? Wow, you should be the SDML Politician."

Seto snorted. "Like anyone would ever vote me into a government office."

Tyler grinned. "I would."

"You're joking."

"No, I seriously would."

"Why in the world would you do something stupid like that?"

"Because at least you'd be better than that guy who suggested to build an entire freaking wall to keep foreigners out."

"...I'm real flattered right now."

"Yeah, I can tell because you're smiling."

Seto's smile disappeared as he flushed red and scowled. "No I'm not."

"Aaand back to the lying."

They started walking up the stairs to the second floor. Seto huffed. "It's just my luck that out of all the doors I could have bumped into after MonoWither startled me, it had to be yours. I'm not sure whether or not I'd rather have you or MonoWither joining me in my morning walk at this point. Both of you talk too much."

Tyler placed a hand on his chest, batting his eyes and opening his mouth in an exaggeratedly offended manner. "Why must you insult me so?"

"Aren't you the drama queen."

"Well I guess that since I don't have an acting job right now, I'll just be your annoying assistant. I have lots of experience; my parents can testify."

"I won't pay you," Seto retorted.

"Don't worry about that, I work free of charge 24/7."

"That's real unasked-for dedication right there."

At this point, they reached the second floor. "...Hey, you know... I never really did explore the second floor..." Tyler remarked.

"Huh? Why not?"

"I mean when MonoWither first opened it, I kinda... cooped myself up in my own room."

Realization dawned in Seto's face. "Oh..."

"So I know that's the infirmary over there," Tyler said, pointing to the room on the right. "But I'm not sure what everything else is..."

Seto pointed to the rooms on the opposite side of the pool. "Those are the locker rooms. Don't try to go into the women's locker room; first of all, you need to use your e-Handbook to enter and you can't steal another person's; second of all, if you try to go in you'll get shot by those Gatling guns on the ceiling."

Tyler grimaced. "I mean I wasn't planning on doing that in the first place, but geez..."

Seto nodded. "Yeah, MonoWither's really strict on stuff like that for some reason. Anyway, the room on the left is the wrestling room. It's basically a gym."

"Looks like a room I'm gonna avoid. Working out? Total nightmare," Tyler said with a shiver. Seto had to suppress a giggle. Giggle? Why did he want to giggle all of a sudden?

"So is that everything on the second floor? Man, I didn't miss much, huh."

"Nope. The third floor is a lot more interesting in my opinion..." The two of them started walking up the stairs again.

"You just love the brewing room, huh?" Tyler asked.

"Well not really..."

"You let out a fangirl screech when you saw everything there. It was like you'd been given all the candy you could ever want for Christmas."

Goddamnit, someone _had_ overheard him.

"I'm not one for brewing, haha..." Tyler said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head and grinning awkwardly. "Brewing was my worst class at school, I totally sucked at it."

"Really?" Seto asked.

"I almost blew up the classroom once. It was a disaster..."

"...Did you leave the gunpowder out after trying to make a splash potion."

"...Yeah."

"Did you leave the gunpowder near the brewing stand."

"...Yeah."

"Near the blaze rod."

"...Yeah. The teacher managed to put out the flames, but I mean... Yeah."

"Well I wouldn't say you suck... You're just careless. Dangerously careless."

"Gee, thanks."

Seto tried to reassure him. "But I mean, that's years ago, right? So things could be different-"

**DING DONG, DING DONG**

Seto and Tyler reached the third floor and stopped walking.

**Good morning, bastards! It's 7 in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to have fun and entertain the audience today!**

"Everyone's going to be up soon..." Seto murmured. Tyler watched as a melancholy expression crossed the sorcerer's face.

"Hey, uh... I've always wanted to, uh... See a professional brewer work up close..." Tyler admitted.

"Not sure where you're gonna get any professionals when we're stuck here," Seto muttered, looking away.

"What, aren't you a professional?"

Seto's freckled cheeks blushed red. "Wh-What? Of course not, it's just a... hobby of mine..."

"You saved Dave's life; no one else could tell that was a Potion of Healing with food coloring."

"Well it was obvious by the smell! And it seemed a lot less thick than a normal Potion of Harming!"

"Well no one else could tell, so I'd say that makes you a professional," Tyler said cheekily. "I know I saw you brew yesterday but you were clearly rushed..."

"F-Fine!" Seto exclaimed, flustered. "What do you want this 'professional' to brew?!"

"Uh... I don't... really know... What do you want?" Tyler asked tentatively.

"...I'll just make a Potion of Invisibility..." Seto replied.

They both entered the brewing room. "You know, I like this place too," Tyler said, looking around.

"Why?" Seto asked as he grabbed an empty flask and filled it with water from a nearby cauldron.

"It's the only place with no security cameras..." Tyler replied. "I like the feeling of not being watched."

"Maybe that's why MonoWither added that tapestry of themselves on the wall over there," Seto said, pointing at it.

"Probably," Tyler replied, grinning. "So... what are you doing now?"

"Making an Awkward Potion," Seto muttered as he placed the water bottle on the brewing stand. "Now first I need Nether Wart..."

Tyler opened the oven for him and stepped back from the blast of warm air. "Heh, an Awkward Potion, huh? I didn't realize they named a potion after me, I'm honored."

Seto rolled his eyes and pulled out the oven tray, which was filled with Soul Sand. Bright-red Nether Wart was growing from the Soul Sand. "The best Nether Wart comes straight from the Nether, but this should be good enough," he muttered. He carefully selected the most vibrant sprig and plucked it from the Soul Sand before pushing the tray back in and shutting the door.

"Ugh, that smells like copper, don't you think?" Tyler asked, waving his hand in front of his nose and cringing. "God, it's so strong... Why does it have to smell like that?"

Seto found the mortar and pestle and used his magic to quickly grind the Nether Wart into a fine powder while at the same time turn on the flames at the bottom of the brewing stand. The water began to bubble and release steam. "In old legends, they said that there was a huge fight between Herobrine and the villagers in the Nether. The blood of the massacred villagers on Soul Sand eventually grew into Nether Wart," Seto murmured.

Tyler's eyes widened. "Really?!"

Seto shrugged before placing the mortar and pestle down and examining the powder. "It's just a folktale sorcerers said in the ancient past before science was discovered. Passed through generations, that kind of thing."

"It's cool that you know all this stuff, though..." Tyler remarked with admiration. "You're pretty smart..."

Seto felt heat rush to his face and immediately turned to the brewing stand's flames to hide how flustered he was. "N-No I'm not!"

Tyler scoffed. "You know a ton of stuff, what do you mean you're not-"

" _Anyway_ , you, uh, might want not want to be so close to the brewing stand when I dump this in..." Seto said. Tyler stepped away as Seto poured the Nether Wart powder into the boiling water. The water started to fizz as the steam turned a dull shade of crimson.

"...So I'm guessing that's why MonoWither doesn't have cameras here..." Tyler said before pausing. "Uh, should we be wearing masks or something?"

"It's just Nether Wart, although you're right, that is probably why there's no security cameras here. Metal doesn't react well to this," Seto replied as he turned the dial so the fire burned less intensely. As he waited for the steam to dissipate, he opened the refrigerator and rummaged inside before pulling out a long, shiny golden carrot. "This looks good..." he said to himself before waving away the remaining wisps of steam from the brewing stand. Seto pointed at the potion. "All right, this is you."

"Me?" Tyler asked, confused.

"...The awkward potion," Seto deadpanned.

Tyler's eyes widened. "...OH!"

"The name is apparently even more accurate than I thought."

Now it was Tyler's turn to look embarrassed. "H-Hey!"

"Anyway, while we wait for it to cool a bit more, I need a knife and a cutting board..."

Tyler quickly searched through the drawers before finding the items. "Uh, are these okay?"

"Yeah, thanks." Seto turned on the faucet from the nearby sink, took the knife and cutting board from his hands using his magic, and ran both under the water to clean them. He turned off the faucet and simultaneously levitated a towel in the air and wiped the blade and the board dry. Then he set the board down on the table and placed the golden carrot on top of it.

Still keeping the knife in the air using his sorcery, Seto began to rapidly chop the carrot into small pieces. Temporarily becoming engrossed in his work, Seto started humming a soft tune to himself as he levitated the board with the carrot slices and poured them into the Awkward Potion, which started fizzing again. With his magic, he spun the dial so the flames grew large before turning around. That's when he saw Tyler staring at him, his mouth gaping open.

Seto let out a small yelp of surprise and dropped the board, which clattered onto the floor. "Uh- Oh- I- I kinda forgot you were... there..." he said sheepishly as he picked up the board with his hands. "I kinda got carried away..."

Tyler closed his mouth. "I've... never seen you use so much magic like that..."

Seto felt something in his stomach twist and subconsciously twiddled his thumbs. "Is that a bad thing? I mean it's just levitation... I can, um, stop if you want..."

"N-No! That's not what I meant at all!" Tyler stammered frantically. "I meant... I just think it's cool..." He laughed nervously. "I wish I could be a sorcerer, hehe..."

Seto felt relief wash over him and composed himself. "Well why don't we switch talents? I'll be the SDML Drama Actor, you'll be the SDML Sorcerer."

"Great, I'll get super awesome powers and you'll be in a ton of movies. Everyone's happy! Yeah!" Tyler declared.

Seto chuckled softly and turned back to the brewing stand, turning off the flames. He briefly examined the potion, which was now glowing purple. "It looks about right. See, that's a Potion of Night Vision right there."

Tyler peered at the potion, which smelled far more pleasant than it had previously. If someone asked Seto, he'd say that it smelled like jasmine flowers. "Ooh... Night Vision... So how do we make it a Potion of Invisibility?"

"We just need a Fermented Spider Eye, some redstone dust to make it last longer, and that'll be it," Seto replied. "Do we need to kill another spider?"

Tyler shook his head. "Nah, they actually had a second spider eye so they just put it in this chest. I'll get the stuff you need." He walked over to a chest and pulled out said materials before taking a mushroom and sugar for the Fermented Spider Eye.

Seto took the Eye and a pinch of redstone dust before dumping them into the flask and turning the flames back on. "Now we just have to wait."

"How do you remember all this stuff without using a book or something?" Tyler asked in bewilderment.

Seto shrugged. "Instinct, I guess-"

"Of course, and you say you're not a professional- _OH MY GOD!_ " Tyler shrieked suddenly.

Seto whirled around and came face to face with Ashley, who was standing on the other side of the room and staring at them. "A-Ashley!" Seto cried out in shock.

"Wh- How did you get in here?!" Tyler demanded, his face still pale with fright. "You nearly scared us half to death, sneaking up on us like that!"

Ashley shrugged. "As I said before, I tend to have that effect on people."

"But how did you get in here?" Seto asked.

Ashley raised an eyebrow before pointing at the door, which was closed. "How else?"

Tyler fumbled for words. "But- But neither of us noticed-!"

"There's a lot people won't notice when they're distracted by each other," Ashley replied, smirking.

"WHAT?!" both men shrieked in unison.

"Anyway, I was just taking a morning stroll and decided to drop by before I was rudely ignored," Ashley said sarcastically as she headed back to the entrance. "Also, that potion you're brewing seems like it's done already."

Seto turned back to the potion and noticed that it was on the brink of overheating. "Crap!" he cried out as he immediately turned off the flames. "That was close..."

"So did it work?" Tyler asked with excitement.

Seto used his magic to hold the silver potion up (it was still too hot to touch) and inspected it carefully. "...I think I added too much Nether Wart..." he lamented. "Probably chopped the carrot too thinly as well..."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Somehow I get the feeling that you're just being a perfectionist."

"I'm not a perfectionist, I just like it when the things I make have no flaws!"

"...That makes you a perfectionist."

Seto fumed silently before holding the now-lukewarm flask in his hands. "Well, it'll still work fine..." he admitted after a moment. "It'll last for up to eight minutes before you start becoming visible."

"Before _I_ start becoming visible?" Tyler echoed, confused.

"Here, you can have it," Seto said, placing the flask in the taller man's hands. "I don't really want it."

"But- But you're the one who brewed it, you should have it!" Tyler said, trying to give the potion back.

Seto shook his head. "I insist you have it. It's my gift."

Tyler stared at the silver potion, dumbstruck. "I... I... I don't know what to say... except 'thank you'..."

Seto suddenly saw a tall shadow cross the wall and whirled around to see Bart trying to move towards the door. For a brief moment, their eyes met. For once, the usually-composed Enderman had a deer-in-the-headlights expression as he realized he'd been spotted.

"What is it, Seto- AHHH!" Tyler cried out, dropping the potion in his shock. Seto managed to catch it with his magic before it hit the floor and levitate it back into Tyler's hands. When they both turned back, they realized that Bart was gone.

"Why do people keep sneaking in here?" Seto asked with annoyance.

"I get the feeling that they're just messing with us now on purpose," Tyler replied.

"I wonder what time it is," Seto muttered as he looked up at the clock. "What the- It's already 8:15?!" Suddenly people walking about wasn't that strange anymore. Everyone was probably up by now...

"Oh god, people are gonna get the wrong idea again!" Tyler shouted in horror. "Quick, we need to get out of here before more of them find us!"

They burst out of the brewing room and almost bumped into someone who was standing in front of the elevators.

"Ryan?" Seto asked quietly. Chills of apprehension and sorrow ran down his spine as Ryan slowly turned to face him, his deadened blue eyes still filled with that consuming despair...

"Hey, did you sleep at all last night?" Tyler asked, concerned.

Ryan didn't give a response, verbal or physical. He just kept staring into emptiness...

"Look... It's not good for your health if you don't sleep..." Tyler said softly. "It's been two days. I know you're upset, but... We're seriously worried about you, Ryan... All of us... It hurts to see you like this..."

Silence.

Tyler bit his lip and looked at Seto, begging him for help. Seto felt his throat dry up and swallowed nervously as he tried to subdue certain thoughts. "Ryan... you can always talk to us, okay? Anyone of us would be glad to listen and help you. Don't bottle everything up inside..."

Ryan stared blankly before walking past them towards the music room, seemingly indifferent.

"Ryan? Did you hear me?" Seto asked from behind him. "I said that you can always talk to us-"

"He won't listen to you..." MonoWither said suddenly.

"Ugh, go away!" Tyler shouted.

"What, we're just saying! He went straight from his room and was sitting on the steps for about a minute before Ashley left the brewing room and saw him. She tried talking to him but all he did was leave and go to the elevators, where once again you guys tried to talk to him. He doesn't want to listen to any of you!"

"That doesn't mean we can just give up on him," Seto said.

"You know, they say that God only helps those who help themselves..." MonoWither pointed out.

Tyler stiffened in anger. "That- That quote is taken out of context! Even if Ryan won't open up to us, we have to show we're there for him!"

"Gah, what's the use?! If he won't listen, he won't listen! There's no use wasting your time on him!"

"We aren't 'wasting' our time..." Seto muttered.

"Let's change the subject to something better! Oh dear, oh dear, what did we miss out on? We want to know all the details about what you two were doing without us!" MonoWither declared. "There's no security cameras, so you're gonna have to fill us in on what happened!"

"That's none of your business," Seto replied curtly.

"Excuse us? This _is_ our business! It's show business, in fact! So come on, fess up! What dirty, _filthy_ things were you two doing in the privacy of that brewing room? Did you suck on each other's potion bottles until everything was dry? Rub each other's Blaze Rods until sparks shot out? Shove one's pestle in the other's mortar and grind intensely? Obviously the potions weren't the only things getting hot and steamy in there!"

"Having a great time without you is what we were doing," Tyler answered sarcastically. "Now just leave us alone!"

"You guys are so unreasonable!" MonoWither whined. "It seems like everyone's always keeping secrets from us!" All three of their heads grinned crookedly. "But unfortunately for Seto, that's the only secret he has hidden from us..."

Seto's face paled.

"Oh Tyler, you know so little about your friend here, it's so dramatically ironic!" MonoWither declared. "But in fact, there's a lot Seto isn't telling you about himself!"

"Wh-What are you talking about?!" Tyler demanded.

"Upupupu! You know exactly what we're talking about!" MonoWither said, giggling. "You sure enjoy spending time with Seto, but if you ever found out about his worst secret, you'd be feeling a lot more differently, we can assure you!"

"Shut up! You're a liar!" Tyler retorted. "I trust Seto, I don't care if he never tells me his secret, I know that won't change how I see him! I trust him, and- Seto?"

Seto turned tail and ran down the stairs to the second floor as fast as he could. He was almost past the pool when Tyler chased him down and grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Seto?! Seto, stop! It's okay!"

Seto couldn't stop himself from trembling violently. "I'm- I'm sorry- I'm so sorry- I'm sorry-" he repeated without thinking. He was starting to hyperventilate and he shut his eyes tightly, refusing to meet Tyler's gaze.

"Sorry for what?" Tyler asked, confused.

"I- I just- I'm sorry- I'm sorry-"

"Seto, breathe. You're going to pass out."

Seto took deep, shuddering breaths, attempting to overcome the wild panic that was clawing its way through his lungs and up his throat.

"Look at me, Seto."

Seto shook his head stubbornly.

"Seto..."

The brunette sorcerer blinked before hesitantly looking up.

"Geez, I didn't realize I was that ugly," Tyler joked.

Seto stared down at the ground, too overwhelmed with emotions to laugh like he normally would.

Tyler noticed this and frowned. "So... I'm guessing this has to do with the worst secret thing."

Seto nodded slightly.

"...Any reason why you just can't say it?" Tyler asked.

"...It's like MonoWither said... You wouldn't see me the same way..." Seto said with a hollow voice.

"So the secret's that bad?"

"...I almost killed Bonks... to keep it a secret..." Seto mumbled.

"But you didn't go through with it," Tyler reminded him.

Regret consumed Seto's expression. "I shouldn't have even considered the idea in the first place..."

"Look, we, um... make stupid choices sometimes?" Tyler asked tentatively. "Sorry, I don't really know what to say that could help you... But Bonks is fine, isn't she? Even she knows you regret it, she told us herself, and I think she's the one who should have the final say on whether you deserve forgiveness or not."

"We all know Bonks can be too nice for her own good..." Seto whispered.

"Well yeah, but still. It's pointless beating yourself up over it when you're already forgiven."

Seto struggled to hold back the tears prickling at the back of his eyes.

"So MonoWither's been bothering you about the secret, huh?"

Seto nodded.

"I personally don't want to force you to say it. It's your choice if you want to tell me or not. No matter what he says, I know it won't change the way I see you that much."

Seto cringed. "You think you know me, but you don't at all..."

"I don't? So you mean this whole time you've been faking your personality?"

"Well no, but-"

"So you've been acting like yourself this whole time?"

"...Mostly."

Tyler grinned. "So that means that I do know you, and that whatever secret you have won't make me stop being friends with you."

Seto paused. "You don't understand the full situation..."

"Of course I don't; if I did we wouldn't be having this conversation. But it doesn't matter that much to me."

Seto still looked dejected.

"Do you want to take MonoWither's word over mine? I'm offended that you'd listen to that machine over me."

Seto paused before huffing. "At least I doubt MonoWither ever put gunpowder near a blaze rod while making a potion..."

"Hey! I was 10, cut me some slack!" Tyler shouted indignantly, although he was grinning from ear to ear.

Seto smiled softly, feeling reassured that at least he had one person he could rely on.

Both of them headed down to the cafeteria, where they were unfortunately not spared from the relentless teasing that ensued.

* * *

**MONOWITHER THEATER**

**They say money can't buy happiness, but that's just what the rich people say to the poor to keep them from revolting against the tight, choking coils of capitalism! We mean come on! Money can't buy happiness? Money can buy food, water, knives, guns, brazen bulls, not to mention shelter... That sounds like plenty of happiness to us!**

**Now we wonder if the phrase "money doesn't grow on trees" is false too...**


	28. Blood Money

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Trigger warning- graphic descriptions of blood in the beginning and suicidal thoughts)

_The 10-year-old boy examined the knife in his hand, his red eyes gleaming from the reflection of the blade._ ** _"This is_** ** _reeeaaally_** ** _sharp..."_** _he_ _sa_ _id, giggling._ **_"You should be glad that this isn't for you!"_**

_"No!" a woman tied to a chair screamed as she fought against her restraints. "Please! Don't hurt him! I'll do anything! I swear!"_

_Her boyfriend, chained to the stone wall, struggled as well. "Please, what's happening?! Rebecca? What's going on?!"_

**_"Oh, Ms. Rebecca over here hasn't told you much, hasn't she..."_ ** _the boy said, coyly placing his finger on his chin._ **_"But I guess it's... classified information?"_ **

_"...Classified?"_

**_"You see, Master told me that she was a spy working for a city government and infiltrated our ranks... She already got several of my other masters in one of our other facilities arrested! And that's a_ ** **_biiig_ ** **_no-no! Master didn't like that at all, no sir!"_ **

_"I- I don't know what you're talking about!" Rebecca argued. "You have the wrong person! I didn't do anything! I'm just a banker, I don't-"_

_**"Ms. Rebecca, lying isn't a good thing to do! I think your boyfriend here needs to teach you a lesson on good manners!"** _

_The boy raised the knife and grinned as he approached the chained man, who writhed desperately. "R-Rebecca! D-Do something!"_

_"You're just a kid..." Rebecca whispered, horrified. "You're just a kid, and you're ready to torture people..."_

**_"Hmm? So? I get to do grown-up stuff because Master ordered me to!"_ **

_"_ _Wh_ _... Where are your parents? Did these people kill them?"_

**_"My parents? Oh, you've got the wrong idea! I don't have parents! I wasn't made like you were. I don't have a mother. But if you want to get technical about it, Master is my father, since he created me!"_ ** _the boy said cheerfully._

_"Created you?"_

_**"You're looking at the Order of the Ender Dragon's greatest, most top-secret project! The 'Slotty Project'!"** _

_"...Slotty Project..." Rebecca mumbled, her eyes flashing in recognition. "So that's what they meant..."_

**_"Oh, why am I giving you more information? You got me distracted, made me forget my orders! I'll have to punish your boyfriend_ ** **_reeeaaal_ ** **_hard for that!"_ **

_The boy raised his knife and giggled as he traced it along the man's bare torso. The man stiffened with fear and apprehension._ **_"_ ** **_Eenie_ ** **_..._ ** **_Meenie_ ** **_..._ ** **_Miny_ ** **_... Mo!"_ ** _Without warning, the boy sliced the man's right thigh open._

_The man howled in pain as he thrashed in agony. "_ _REBECCA_ _!" The boy seemed to find his suffering hilarious, as he started giggling even louder._

_Rebecca's face had gone numb._

**_"Now, Ms. Rebecca... All you have to do is tell us everything you know about the Order and what you've told your bosses so far... and then your boyfriend here will be patched up, his memories removed, and sent straight back home! Of course, we can't let_ you _go, but... They say_** **love** _**is a satisfying thing worth sacrificing for!"** _

_"N-No! Rebecca!" the man shouted, gasping for breath. "I- I can't let you die like this!"_

_"...What would you know about love?" Rebecca asked softly, ignoring the man. "You, a child who derives pleasure from killing and torturing?"_

**_"Clearly a lot more than you! I do this_ for ** **_love_ ** _**!"** _

_"A love for inflicting pain?"_

**_"No no no, Ms. Rebecca! My love for my master of course! I guess indirectly that does mean I love inflicting pain, because if my master orders me to do it then it's all worthwhile! I love my master and I know that he'll never ever replace me as long as he appreciates my work!_ ** **_Ahhh_ ** **_..._ ** **_Looove_ ** **_... Love is such a beautiful thing!"_ **

_The child smiled from ear to ear as he eagerly plunged the knife into the man's other thigh. The man screamed again, jerking in tortured anguish. "PLEASE! PLEASE STOP!"_

**_"I'll only stop if Ms. Rebecca tells Master what he wants! Now Ms. Rebecca..."_ ** _The boy twisted the knife a bit before pulling it out, splattering blood all over his black robe and his face, and started slicing a long, thin line down the man's torso. The man choked out a sob and shut his eyes tightly._ **_"What would you do for love?"_ **

_Tears slid down Rebecca's cheeks as the boy cackled gleefully._

**_"Oh boy, I made a big mess!"_ ** _he exclaimed, ecstatically holding up his bloodstained fingers like they were trophies._

_The blood on his fingers oozed down his pale skin before dripping down onto the cobblestone floor._

* * *

Seto shot awake, actually _screaming_ in horror as he shoved the blankets off of him. For a few seconds his eyes darted back and forth in the darkness, his throat hoarse and raw as he breathed heavily. He covered his mouth with his hands and suppressed the sudden urge to vomit. He could still smell the coppery scent of blood, feel the warm stickiness on his fingers...

Gradually his panic and nausea faded slightly and he turned on the light, reminding himself of his surroundings.

_It's over. You're safe now. Slotty is gone._

**_No he isn't. He's always_ ** **_there_ ** **_. He'll always be a part of me._ **

_He's GONE. You're SAFE._

Seto panted as he stared at his pale fingers, which he was relieved to find _not_ stained with crimson blood.

_It was just a memory of the past._

Seto looked at the clock and was shocked to see that it was almost 9:30. How had he managed to sleep that long? Worst, he still felt utterly exhausted due to the nightmare...

Suddenly he heard someone knock on his door. Seto paused for a moment, bewildered, but then the knocks got more frantic and louder. He quickly got off the bed before sprinting to the door and opening it to see a familiar man wearing a red-and-gray checkered hoodie.

"...Tyler?"

Tyler grinned awkwardly. "W-Woah, uh, hey Seto... I was getting kinda worried there..."

"I just woke up," Seto muttered, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Did I wake you?" Tyler asked, suddenly concerned.

Seto shook his head. "No, you didn't. I woke up a few minutes ago."

Tyler scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, it's just that you usually wake up super early... And everyone else is awake except for you..."

So Tyler had actually taken the time to check on him...

"Well, I'm fine," was all Seto could manage to say. He paused and noticed that Tyler was just staring at him without replying. "Uh... Is there something on my face?"

Tyler snapped back to the real world. "Wh- What? No, it's just that... I've never seen you without your cloak on..."

Seto flinched and looked down to see that he was indeed only wearing a white T-shirt and purple boxers. He let out an embarrassed squeak as he slammed the door shut in Tyler's face. His face burned with mortification as he quickly found his pants and gray cloak, slipped them on, before opening the door again. "So... that didn't happen..."

Tyler was hunched over, struggling not to laugh.

Seto scowled. "Stop it!" he said indignantly, pushing him away as he left the room.

"Okay, okay, calm down! It's not that big of a deal!" Tyler said, chuckling as he followed Seto out of the hallway towards the cafeteria.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"

"I mean it's not like you were naked or anything!"

"It doesn't matter if I was naked or not!"

"You were naked?" Annie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Seto looked up and realized that everyone was sitting in the cafeteria, stopping their breakfast meal to stare at them. His face heated up. "Uh- no- I said that I _wasn't_ naked-"

"Sure, sure..." Annie said, waving her hand dismissively. "Whatever you say."

Seto narrowed his eyebrows and scowled again as he made his way to an empty seat next to Bodil.

Tyler sat down next to him. "You aren't going to eat anything?"

"...I'm not that hungry right now..."

Suddenly a thumping sound rang out as Jerry knocked over Jordan's glass of orange juice. "Jerry! Bad slime!" Jordan scolded, quickly setting the now-half-filled glass upright. Jerry jumped onto the puddle of juice with a loud squelch and began gleefully absorbing the liquid. "...I can't stay angry at him..." Jordan muttered, resting his head in his hands. "I am such a horrible parent, spoiling my child..."

Husky abruptly started tapping on the table with his hand. "So is everyone here?" he called out.

"Yeah, Seto was the last one, besides Ryan," Bonks replied. "Why?"

"...Speaking of Ryan, Husky and I are worried about him," Jason said. "Right when Night Time ended this morning, we tried to find him so we could talk to him, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen."

"Maybe he finally went to sleep?" Bodil suggested hopefully.

Husky shook his head. "No, MonoWither said that he hasn't gone back to his room ever since the trial. He hasn't been sleeping at all, otherwise MonoWither would have punished him by now."

"Well, there are three floors open... There's plenty of ways Ryan could have hid somewhere..." Steven pointed out.

"That's true..." Ashley murmured. "Yesterday he avoided me when I tried to talk to him."

"Same with Seto and I..." Tyler recalled. "But for him to be actually missing worries me..."

"Exactly why I propose we search for him right now," Husky said. "I'm worried that Ryan's gotten himself hurt, or MonoWither's done something to him."

Murmurs of assent filled the room.

"Would MonoWither actually go far enough to do something to Ryan?" Bonks asked, uneasy.

"I have a feeling they wouldn't, but then again, they can never be trusted," Jordan replied.

"At this point they're absolutely unpredictable..." Seto said quietly.

"Besides, we need to show Ryan that we're there for him and possibly convince him to open up," Tyler noted.

"Yeah... He's really starting to concern me..." Annie said.

"He- He hasn't slept in three days!" Steven exclaimed. "And he still hasn't spoken a word!"

"So how are we going to do this?" Ashley asked.

"We have 12 people right now, including Bart and Dave," Jason said. "Therefore we should divide ourselves into three groups of four for each floor."

In the end Bonks, Steven, Bart, and Dave were assigned the first floor; Ashley, Bodil, Annie, and Jordan were assigned the second floor; and Seto, Tyler, Jason, and Husky were assigned the third floor.

* * *

"How in the world could he have just _disappeared_ like that?" Tyler asked, perplexed. He opened one of the cabinets in the dance room only to find a pile of extension cords neatly wrapped in a Velcro strap. "Ugh!" he huffed before slamming the door shut.

"There's no way Ryan could fit in there," Seto pointed out. He was lying on his stomach and peering underneath the stage, although all he could find were dust and cobwebs.

"Well it was worth a shot, you never know..." Tyler grumbled.

"Maybe..." Jason said, looking up at the star-studded ceiling. "Ah! Maybe he crawled through the vents!"

"...How could he have gotten up there?" Husky asked.

"Well probably not this vent in particular, but maybe he escaped somehow and that's why MonoWither won't tell us where he is!" Jason exclaimed, although his face showed that he didn't really believe it himself.

"...Crawling through the vents is only a movie thing," Tyler replied. "In reality it's full of dust and bugs and they're really cramped. A big guy like him couldn't fit. He'd probably break the tube, if he could even get in. So that idea isn't really likely."

"...Says the guy who looked for Ryan in the cabinets..." Jason muttered.

"I haven't heard anyone from the lower floors say anything..." Husky said dejectedly. "I guess they're having just as much luck as we are..."

"Come on, he's probably hiding somewhere and no one's found it yet," Jason replied optimistically. "Someone will find him. Maybe we will!"

"Well, there's only one place left to check," Seto murmured. He was about to get up when all of a sudden something darted from beneath the stage and crawled straight towards him. "OH SHIT!" he shrieked, scrambling away on all fours before instinctively blasting the creature to bits with his magic, making the ground shake. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"

"...I think that was a centipede... Well, before you blew it up," Husky replied awkwardly.

"G-Geez, what kind of mad reflexes do you _have_?!" Jason wondered aloud.

Seto placed his face in his hands and moaned. "Oh my god, my heart is racing..."

"Remind me never to startle you," Tyler said, laughing. "I don't want to end up killed."

Seto tried to ignore his innocuous statement and stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes. "S-So... anyway, what I was going to say was that we still haven't checked the monster rooms."

Horror flashed across Jason's face as his eyes widened. "You- You think he could be in there?! But- But what if he's-"

Husky's face hardened. "...We need to check, no matter what..."

"Yeah, b-besides! He might be hiding in the empty skeleton room or something, thinking that no one would bother to check in there!" Tyler stammered.

"We don't have any weapons though..." Jason said hesitantly.

"No need for weapons, I'll just go first," Seto muttered, forming a purple ball of light in his hands before leaving the dance room.

Seto opened the first door in the hallway and shone his purple light in the dark room, revealing nothing. "I guess MonoWither didn't replace the skeletons..." he muttered.

Husky's eyes widened. "Do you think... MonoWither did the same thing to Ryan that they did to Steven, but with different monsters?"

Chills ran up and down their spines and the air seemed to get colder at the very thought.

"I- I hope not- Oh god..." Jason stammered.

"I doubt Ryan would fall for that..." Tyler said quietly. "Unless he was ordered to like Steven was... But why would MonoWither do that?"

"We still have no idea why MonoWither did it to _Steven_ ," Husky said. "They're just desperate for 'entertainment' at this point... They're just fucked up..."

"Let's stay focused on the current task," Seto reminded. "There's no use worrying about what could have happened right now."

The next room they opened had six green-skinned zombies. They growled and started shambling over to the four with outstretched arms, their feet dragging against the cobblestone floor. Seto calmly formed a magical barrier, blocking their path. The zombies stupidly kept smacking their hands against the barrier, moaning and trying to bite their way through. "Gross. That smells gross. Rotten flesh, agh..." Tyler complained with disgust before stepping out of the room to breathe.

"...I've always wondered why Dave is so different from other zombies..." Jason said thoughtfully. "I mean, he doesn't attack anyone, he's obsessed with video games, and he actually saved Steven's life while putting his at risk..."

"I always thought he got bitten or something and the transformation didn't turn out right," Tyler replied.

"That sounds likely," Seto murmured. "Some people have developed immunities to the zombie virus."

"I actually asked Steven about that once," Husky said. "Well, I actually asked how he met and befriended Bart and Dave."

"What did he say?" Jason asked curiously.

"...Only that it was a long story. He wouldn't say anything else."

"Huh... Strange..." Tyler mumbled.

"Well, seems clear to me that Ryan isn't here..." Seto said, removing the barrier and ushering everyone out before closing the door.

The next room had six creepers. Seto actually heard them hiss before they entered his line of vision and quickly formed a barrier, pushing the bright-green monsters back against the wall where they writhed and growled.

Tyler's face paled. "Wh- What if Ryan was in here and the creepers blew him up-"

"Then there would be nothing in this room other than a giant blood splatter against the wall," Seto deadpanned.

"G-Geez Seto!" Jason exclaimed, horrified. "That's so morbid!"

"Well he isn't wrong..." Husky admitted.

"Speaking of creepers... Hey Seto, why do you have a creeper symbol on your cloak?" Tyler asked. "I've always wondered."

"I remember when we first met you still had a black cloak with an Ender Dragon face on it," Jason recalled. "Why'd you make the change?"

Seto shrugged. "Well I made the change because creepers are cool. I always liked creepers as a kid... Blazes were my second favorite. I had this creeper plushie when I was little..."

"You were a creeper kid, huh?" Husky asked. "I was a Guardian kid. They blow stuff up _underwater_ , what's not to like!"

"I was a witch kid," Tyler said. "Ironic, since I'm horrible at brewing myself..."

"Witch kid, huh? That explains your current interest..." Jason said, casting a pointed glance at Seto. Seto didn't notice, but Tyler did and slapped Jason's shoulder indignantly. Jason cackled. "You know I'm right! Anyway, I used to be a Wither kid, before MonoWither had to ruin it for me forever..."

"Aw man, that sucks," Husky said, laughing.

They entered the next room and found five slimes of different sizes jumping around in a room. They made squelching, slapping sounds as they slowly hopped towards the group. But still no Ryan...

"Jordan really likes Jerry now, huh?" Jason asked.

"He's become a doting father!" Husky said, laughing.

"He spoils Jerry so much..." Tyler said, giggling. "Yesterday I saw him trying to eat ice cream but in the end he just spoon-fed Jerry the whole thing because Jerry wanted it..."

"Slimes will eat practically anything," Seto said, rolling his eyes but smiling at the memory.

The next room had four spiders, which hissed and started lunging towards them with bared fangs, ultimately slamming against Seto's quickly-formed barrier.

"AHHH!" Tyler screamed, falling over and landing on his rear before scooting backwards. "Oh my god, oh my god... I hate spiders..." he whispered.

"Same here," Husky said with a shiver. "God... The way they move, the sounds they make..."

Their red eyes gleamed with bloodlust as they tried climbing over the barrier, which was connected to the ceiling. Cobwebs littered the back of the room, but there was still no sign of Ryan.

"So Annie, Jordan, and Ashley killed two spiders, right?" Seto asked for clarification.

"Uh, yeah, why?" Jason replied.

"There seem to be six monsters per room. Jerry was missing from the slime room and there are only four spiders here," Seto pointed out.

"Ah, I see..." Jason murmured.

The next room had six cave spiders, which also rushed towards them and hissed viciously against Seto's barrier.

 _"_ _AHHHHHHHHH_ _!"_ Tyler screamed, once again falling over.

"Somehow... I was expecting that to happen," Husky murmured.

"SP-SPIDER! POISONOUS SPIDERS! MORE OF THEM! AAAAHHHHHHH!"

"...They're _venomous_ spiders, not poisonous. They would be poisonous if you ate them and died," Seto corrected.

"WELL THEY'RE STILL DEADLY AND TERRIFYING!"

"Don't worry about the cave spiders, _Seto_ can protect you from them!" Jason declared, smirking.

"...Not sure why you had to say it that way..." Seto replied, perplexed.

One look in the next room made everyone shield their eyes immediately. However, the six Endermen inside still started screeching and howling at them.

"Wh-Why are they so mad?!" Tyler asked, burying his face in his hands. "Who looked at them?!"

"Not me!" Husky shouted, quivering in fear.

"Me neither!" Jason yelled, his voice higher-pitched than usual. "Let- Let's get out of here!"

"No, we need to see if Ryan is in there!" Seto stated. He hadn't looked at the Endermen's eyes himself, but he still needed to check... Slowly, he lowered his arm and looked straight at their faces. They started shaking intensely, baring their fanged jaws at him, but he still refused to lower his gaze.

"S-Seto?! What are you doing?!" Tyler questioned, horrified.

"Stop looking at them!" Husky demanded.

"Are you insane!?" Jason shrieked.

Seto stepped forward, raising his chin and glaring back at the Endermen. They practically went mad, teleporting erratically around the room, but strangely not attacking him. Seto's hands glowed purple as he calmly walked through the haunting of Endermen despite their incessant cries and howls.

Ryan wasn't in here either.

Seto walked back, never losing his dominant stance as he left the room and closed the door.

"Wh- What the?! What the hell did you do?!" Husky asked, stunned.

"You were looking straight at them!" Jason cried out. "Why didn't they didn't attack you?!"

"...Intimidation technique," was all Seto said in reply. "Doesn't work for everyone, so don't try it yourselves."

"I'll admit... That was totally cool... Crazy, but cool at the same time..." Tyler remarked. "Just don't give me a heart attack again, okay?"

"...No promises."

The last room was surprisingly empty. The four of them cautiously stepped inside.

"Is there supposed to be something in here?" Jason asked, confused. "There's no mobs or anything..."

"...Did Ryan have something to do with this?" Husky questioned aloud.

"I don't know about that..." Tyler replied.

"Shh!" Seto ordered.

Jason started stammering. "Wh-What- why-"

_"_ _SHH_ _!"_

Silence filled the room.

Seto listened carefully, tilting his head, before whispering, "Do you hear that?"

"...Is that... rustling?" Tyler asked, bewildered.

Seto's eyes widened. "We- We need to get out of here-"

_-CRACK!-_

A stone block suddenly plummeted from the ceiling and crashed onto the floor, missing Husky's head by an inch. "AH!" he screamed in horror, leaping away.

A silverfish popped out from the fallen block before slithering rapidly towards the group and latching onto Husky's pant leg. "GET OFF! GET OFF!" Husky screeched frantically, kicking the creature away. A second later, more silverfish emerged from the stone blocks and swarmed at them.

Jason grabbed Husky's arm. "LET'S GO!" he shouted. Although they were only a few feet away from the door, it felt like they were running for their lives as they sped out of the room.

"SOMEONE CLOSE THE DAMN DOOR!" Tyler shrieked hysterically.

Seto grabbed the lever and yanked it upwards, shutting the iron door with a clang.

The four panted heavily, taking a moment to catch their breaths.

"That was a close one..." Husky wheezed. "I saw my life flash before me, I swear..."

"Is everyone okay?" Seto asked.

"Yeah... Relatively..." Jason muttered.

Tyler had his hands on his knees as he hunched over, gasping for breath. He still gave Seto a shaky thumbs-up, however.

It was only a few seconds later, when they had regained their bearings, that they realized that Ryan was still nowhere to be found.

* * *

"It's no use!" Annie lamented as she paced around the cafeteria, waving her arms wildly. "We switched floors, went with different people, and searched everywhere!"

"Wh-What if he's just in someone else's personal room?" Bodil suggested. "Maybe MonoWither's just playing a prank on us..."

"Well I asked them if he was in another room other than his own, and they said no," Jordan murmured. "Either they're lying or Ryan's really not in this building anymore."

"Isn't it more likely that he's hiding from us?" Ashley asked. "Maybe he's just switching hiding spots whenever we move."

"Not sure how no one would notice, but at this point anything's possible," Husky said quietly. "I personally think MonoWither did something to him."

"Maybe he escaped?" Jason offered.

"It would explain why MonoWither won't tell us anything, but... I don't know..." Steven trailed off.

"Well he just disappeared without a single trace!" Tyler exclaimed.

"...Not... exactly..." Bonks said hesitantly. She stood up and walked over to the memorial table, pointing at it. "The drawing I made for Mitch and Jerome is missing... And it was still there last night..."

"Then that means Ryan must have taken it..." Husky muttered. "But he could have either been planning to go somewhere or just wanted to keep it with him."

"I think the latter is less likely," Seto remarked. "If he just wanted to keep it, I feel that he would have taken it earlier."

_"Interesting, interesting..."_

MonoWither appeared before them, grinning widely.

"Well this discussion has been fun, but we have a big announcement, so everyone come to-!" MonoWither paused. "Well, we guess it's useless trying to find Ryan. He's run off to who knows where..."

"You must have done something to him!" Husky shouted. "We searched everywhere and there's nobody else in the building except 10 of us, and there's no dead bodies either!"

"Upupu! Is that so! Well, isn't that something! Maybe you guys just aren't looking hard enough!" MonoWither teased. "Anyway, it's been three days, so it's time for the next, brilliantly-crafted _motive_!"

Fear and apprehension filled the room at that last word. "No!" Bodil cried out, clutching his head in his hands. "Please no more!"

"We have a feeling you'll like this one, so we'll just announce it right here in the cafeteria, give you something more interesting to chew on! Ahem! Listen up everyone! The third motive of this show..."

The tension amongst the group was palpable. Seto braced himself for a terrible, horrendous motive that would once again send everyone flying into a wild panic...

_"...is all the money you could ever want in the world!"_

There was a long silence as everyone processed these words.

"... _Money_?" Ashley asked, dumbfounded. "The motive this time... is just _money_?"

"Yep! All the emeralds you could ever want! If you win, you'll be seeing green for the rest of your life, you'll be that rich! You'll be drowning in cold, hard cash! You can by all the amazing mansions, win all the hottest models, retire in luxury!"

"Exactly how much are we talking about?" Husky asked, skeptical.

"Ooh? Are you seriously considering it?!" MonoWither asked.

Husky flinched and his eyes widened in horror. "N-No-! Of course not! I'd never kill anyone over something that stupid and superficial!"

"But that means that if we changed the motive, perhaps you'd be compelled-"

"No! Don't change it!" Husky shrieked.

MonoWither grinned and said nothing.

"Ha! And- And here I thought the motive would be something far worse than the previous two..." Bodil laughed. "I'm so relieved..."

Seto felt all his apprehension fade away. Everyone here was already well-off. What MonoWither had been thinking with this motive, he had no clue...

"Oh- Oh we see how it is!" MonoWither shouted abruptly, startling everyone. "So- So that's what you think! 'Oh, we've already got all the money we want, we're just gonna ignore MonoWither's motive even though they thought you'd be excited about it!' Fine! That's totally fine with us! We even gave you all 40 WitherCoins as a present but we guess you don't care! Just- Just- UUUGGGHHH!" MonoWither disappeared, cutting off their drawn-out groan of frustration.

The sound of the sound speakers turning on filled the room.

**DING DONG, DING DONG**

**This is an announcement from your hosts! It is now 10 pm. Night Time begins now. The** **cafeteria's** **doors will be locked shortly; you are forbidden to enter it. Well then, good night! I wish you all have pleasant dreams...**

"Well good riddance," Annie muttered.

"Steven?" Bonks asked suddenly. "Are you all right?"

Seto looked to see Steven trembling slightly, swallowing in an attempt to stop his hyperventilating. "I- I'm good-" he stammered.

"No, tell us what's wrong," Jordan said.

Steven stared down at his shoes. "Well... I know it's stupid but... What if... What if one of us still considers it...?"

"Oh come on Steven, none of us are _that_ greedy!" Tyler said reassuringly.

"Yeah- Yeah but... There's many people in this world... who'd do awful things just for money..." Steven's black eyes suddenly looked vacant as his mind traveled to some other place. "People... who would hurt others... for money..." Bart shook his shoulder and Dave grasped at his arm, jolting Steven out of his daydream. Steven gulped. "S-Sorry- I know I shouldn't be afraid of any of you, but... I still can't help but just..."

"Relax, we're all... financially stable, to put it humbly. Well, most of us anyway." Something flashed across Tyler's face as he registered his last sentence.

Everyone suddenly turned to stare at Seto, all realizing the same thing. Seto's face paled. "You- You guys- I don't want money! I never have..."

The group looked amongst each other, considering Seto's defense, before calming down.

"That's true..." Ashley said finally. "You've always lived a rather... self-sustaining life..."

"Yeah, in fact you'd probably be the least tempted by this motive," Jordan murmured.

"That doesn't mean anything..." Husky said quietly.

"Wh- What do you mean?" Bodil asked, his voice tinged with fear.

"Just because the motive doesn't apply to him... doesn't mean we can lessen our guard," Husky said. "After all, he almost killed Bonks, right?"

Seto looked away, filled with shame. "I- I really didn't mean to-"

"We can't trust you anymore!" Husky shouted.

Seto felt tears prickling in the backs of his eyes.

"H-Husky-!" Bonks said, appalled. "He- He really regretted it, he didn't mean to do it, I said this already-"

"He tried to choke you, didn't he?" Husky countered.

Bonks' eyes widened. "Wh- How did you-"

"Yeah? Don't think I didn't notice the marks on your neck during the trial. It was only after you said what he tried to do that I realized why they were there."

Bonks fell silent, lost in memory.

"Maybe- Maybe he regrets it. But what kind of secret would he have that would compel him to murder? He still refuses to tell us!"

"If I recall correctly, you haven't told us _your_ secret," Tyler said in Seto's defense.

Husky paused. "...Jason already revealed it during the trial..."

"What-?!" Jason asked, shocked. "The- The fact that you failed the forensics course- You told me that ages ago! I didn't realize that was your worst-"

"You were the only person I told..." Husky turned to Seto. "Well? I said my secret. I know that you probably think it's a stupid secret to hide, and that there are so many worst secrets to keep out there. But if you really can be trusted, then you'd tell us right now!"

Seto bit his quivering lip, unable to meet Husky's piercing gaze.

"Well?! What's holding you back?!" Husky demanded. "What could be that horrible?! Why does it even matter anymore?! There's no one around to hear it but us!"

"I... I..." Seto said faintly. "I can't... tell you..."

"Why the hell not?!" Husky shouted. "What, is it that you're one of the people spying for MonoWither?!"

Seto's heart skipped a beat. "Wh- What the-!"

"That's a pretty big accusation to make," Jordan murmured.

"You're going too far!" Tyler yelled. "Seto wouldn't do that!"

"But... there _are_ magic spells all over this place..." Bodil whispered.

"Exactly!" Husky shouted.

"B-Bodil?" Seto stammered.

"MonoWither did say that the spies... were involved in trapping us all in here..." Bodil said, refusing to meet Seto's gaze.

"I'll admit... I too was... thinking the same thing..." Annie said.

Seto looked around, realizing with horror that everyone was nodding in assent. Even Bonks was twiddling her thumbs as she stared at the floor. Everyone, except for Tyler, had already suspected Seto was one of the spies...

"C-Come on, everyone!" Tyler said. "You guys can't be serious!"

"It's not me..." Seto said with a hollow voice. "I... I know I have no proof, but... it's the truth..."

"You say that, but how can we trust you?!" Husky demanded. "You won't even tell us your secret!"

"If I do, you'll trust me even less!" Seto tried to argue. "You- None of you understand- my secret can't be known-"

"Why does it even matter?!" Husky yelled. "Don't you get it?! We're stuck here forever! Whatever secret you have is never leaving this place! So you might as well just spit it out, it's not like we can do anything about it! Keeping silent like this is just making everything worse!"

"You don't understand!" Seto repeated desperately.

"Then make us understand!" Husky shouted.

"I can't do that!"

"Why not?!"

"I just can't!"

"That just sounds like you're making excuses!"

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are! It makes you sound more guilty!"

"I'm sorry, I just can't-"

_"Everyone just STOP!"_

Everyone turned to see Steven trembling where he stood, breathing heavily. "I- I'm sorry- I shouldn't have brought up the subject... of the motive..." Steven said quietly. "Because- Because of me, everybody's accusing each other... Distrusting each other..."

Jason tried to speak. "It's not your fault, Steven-"

"We shouldn't be arguing like this, it's exactly what MonoWither wants... This whole spy thing... The motive... It's all part of their plan... to make us commit murder... or at least fall into despair..." Steven murmured. "As- As I said before... we should just forget the spy thing..."

"How can we just forget something like that though?" Annie questioned.

"Yeah... It's just not possible... we have to figure out who they are..." Bonks said quietly. "S-Sorry Steven... I don't want to accuse anyone, but..."

"Even- Even still, I think we should leave Seto alone..." Steven suggested. "I'd... be a hypocrite if I blamed him for not wanting to reveal his secret..."

"I don't _blame_ him for that..." Husky admitted. "It's just that he's already too suspicious! If he really cared about us living in harmony, then he'd tell us so that we'd stop suspecting him!"

"Some secrets... just can't be explained..." Steven muttered.

"What did you say?" Ashley asked, confused.

"An-Anyway! We should just... sleep this off!" Steven stammered. "We're all tense now because of what MonoWither said! So- So we should stop arguing right now and try to relax! A good night's sleep is what we need!"

"We're not letting Seto off the hook!" Husky stated. "What if he goes and tries to kill someone else!"

"That's _enough_ , Husky!" Tyler shouted.

"I won't kill anyone!" Seto said, tears streaming down his face. "Just- I'm sorry- I just can't tell anyone-" He bowed his head, ashamed of his cowardliness. "I'm... I'm so sorry everyone..." he whispered before running away.

"Come back!" Husky demanded, chasing after him.

Seto sped out of the cafeteria, heading for his room as fast as he could.

_Stop running away!_

_**They can't find out!** _

_You have to face them eventually!_

_**No! They'll abandon me!** _

_The_ _y deserve to know!_

_**I don't want them to leave me!** _

Seto reached his room and fumbled for his key. Husky was close behind him, and Seto realized the mudkip was seconds away from catching him...

Seto raised his arm and quickly formed a force field. Husky grunted with pain as he crashed into the purple barrier and staggered backwards. "Hey!" Husky shouted angrily. Seto unlocked his door, ran inside and shut it behind him, using his magic to keep the doorknob from turning as he locked the door. Seto heard someone, probably Husky, slam their fists on the door and jiggle the doorknob persistently for a minute before giving up. Seto buried his face in his hands and leaned against the door, sinking to his knees.

**_You dirty coward..._ **

"Well, that was quite interesting... The plot thickens..."

Seto didn't visibly react. He immediately recognized that horrible voice and refused to look up at them. He just waited, waited for them to say more...

"You know, Seto, we're not sure if you've realized this," MonoWither said as they sneered at the sorcerer with three fanged mouths, "but maybe you should have just stayed quiet and accepted your punishment way back when you 'unintentionally' fell asleep in the elevator shaft..."

Their sneers widened into large, taunting grins that shone in the light. "...After all, if you had died right then and there, it would have been so much better off for everybody, now wouldn't it? You know what we're talking about! Everyone's being wary and cautious around you! If you weren't around, none of your friends would be living in fear of the monster you really are! They'd be living in peace! But what a sad dilemma... If you keep refusing to tell them your secret, they'll hate you more and more... But if you do tell them your secret... well, they'd just avoid you completely! There's no way out, isn't that right? No matter what you do, they'll hate and distrust you. There's no escaping despair... There's no hope for you..."

MonoWither giggled. "Well, there is one way out... You know what we're talking about, don't you? The coward's way out... We may have told you not to do it last time, but since killing someone else to escape won't solve your problem... Perhaps you should take that into consideration! And we're not saying that because we want you gone or anything, it's just... Doesn't that fix all your problems? They'll stop hating you and living in fear, you'll stop feeling despair, the motive will be nullified because technically the killer killed themselves... It's a win-win situation!"

Seto couldn't even find the will to defend himself.

"So with that in mind, we'll take our leave! Toodles!" MonoWither promptly disappeared.

Seto slowly raised his head and breathed heavily.

**(A/N: Trigger warning for suicidal thoughts)**

_Well? Are you just going to let them win?_

_**...** _

_You can't do that!_

_**There's no way out...** _

_Yes there is! Just tell them the secret, there's a chance they'll understand-_

_**How could they understand? They already hate me! And then they find out I'm a murderer? For fuck's sake, there's no way they'd forgive me!** _

_You're not the murderer, Slotty is! And it wasn't your fault he was created-_

_**This whole problem started because I existed!** _

_..._

_**EVERYTHING IS MY FAULT! BECAUSE I EXIST! EVERYONE IN MY LIFE HAS SUFFERED BECAUSE OF ME! MOTHER, FATHER, MY FRIENDS, EVERYONE! BECAUSE OF ME!** _

_..._

_**I should have done this a long time ago...** _

_No, stop thinking like this, you're just letting MonoWither win-_

_**I'm not doing this for MonoWither, I'm doing this for everybody!** _

_That's what MonoWither wants you to think! It's not too late to change things!_

_**Someone like me can't change!** _

_Go to sleep, in the morning you'll feel better-_

_**No, I'll just get cold feet. I need to do this now... Before I change my mind like a coward...** _

_Don't you get it?! THIS IS THE COWARD'S WAY OUT! INSTEAD OF FACING WHAT YOU'VE DONE, YOU'RE JUST GOING TO-_

_**At least I'm finally doing something good for once...** _

Seto waited for a very, very long time, musing over his thoughts with a strange... emptiness. He didn't feel anything anymore, he didn't feel sad or angry like before, he just felt numb. It was like a shadow had permanently enveloped him, sucking away all his feelings...

 _There's no going back after this, you know..._ the last remnants of his hope tried to say.

 _ **That's the whole point of doing this,**_ his despair replied.

Seto stood up and saw that it was around 10:40. He carefully opened the door, his movements mechanical as he checked to see if anyone was still outside. Seeing nobody, he closed the door behind him and walked away. He was all alone. All alone...

Suddenly Seto felt fear mixed with sadness sink into his gut. He was going to die all alone... with nobody to talk to... no one to be with him in his final moments...

_**It's what you deserve and you know it.** _

Seto swallowed down his apprehension and carefully made his way to the central hall. He walked up the steps to the second floor, once again checking to make sure no one was watching, before heading to the men's locker room. He pulled out his e-Handbook and scanned it, the beep of confirmation echoing ominously in the silent, empty floor.

Seto took a deep breath before opening the door and entering the locker room. He used his room key to open his locker and took out the pearly-white shaving razor. He stared at it, once again overwhelmed with nauseating apprehension.

_Oh hey, you forgot to write a suicide note, maybe you should go back! Write a note or people will think you've been murdered and go through a whole trial just to figure out what happened! What if they get it wrong?_

_**Stop delaying things! No one's going to think this is a murder, it'll be obvious from the wounds!** _

_Still, you should take the time to say some final words... Maybe you should tell them the secret that way!_

_**There's nothing worth saying anymore... Let's get on with it... You can't turn back now, there's no hope for you... All you do is bring despair to others... This is what you deserve, because you're a horrible, disgusting monster...** _

Seto clutched the razor so tightly, his knuckles matched the plastic in color.

_**MONSTER! MONSTER! MONSTER!** _

_**YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!** _

Voices and faces of the past blurred together as his mind swirled aimlessly.

**_"No, stop! I want to live! I'm sorry I didn't have the money to pay- No! NO!"_ **

**_"It hurts! I don't know anything, I swear- Stop torturing me! It hurts! STOP! STOP!"_ **

**_"I'll do anything! I'll do anything I swear! Just don't hurt me anymore!"_ **

**_"What kind of monster are you?! I didn't do anything wrong! You're not actually a human kid, you can't be! You must be a demon spawn-_ ** **_AGH_ ** **_! STOP! STOP HURTING ME!"_ **

_**"Why are you doing this? I have a husband and children back home! Children your age! Didn't you have parents who loved you?! How would they feel if they saw you doing this to an innocent person?!"** _

**_"I wanna go home... I wanna see Momma and Papa... Please stop hurting me... I don't know what I did wrong..."_ **

**_"Please! Have mercy! Have mercy! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE THIS! HAVE MERCY!"_ **

**_"I hope you go back to HELL one day! I hope you die, feeling the same pain I and everyone else you murdered felt! It's what you deserve! I'm an innocent man, and you're a monstrous KILLER!"_ **

Seto shouted angrily and hurled the razor at the wall. The plastic shattered from the force and three razor blades fell from the broken frame. Seto seethed through clenched teeth, his harsh breaths short and heavy as he trembled violently. He bent over and picked up one of the thin, sharp blades before stepping into the shower room.

He _**deserved**_ this... He **_deserved_** to _**die**_...

Seto tugged down his sleeve, ready to end it all, but then he heard someone shout so loud their voice echoed throughout the locker room.

_"WHO'S THERE?!"_


	29. Behind Closed Doors

_"WHO'S THERE?!"_

Seto flinched and dropped the blade, which clattered against the tiled shower floor. He picked it up and held his breath, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. Who was that?

 _...Ryan?_ he thought briefly, before the voice from the locker room spoke again.

_"I'm not the only one who heard someone shout in here, right?"_

Seto's eyes widened and his face paled. Husky was here...

_"No... I heard it too..."_

Just his luck, Bodil was here too...

 _"Hello?! We know you're in here! Ryan? Is that you?"_ Husky shouted.

 _"Ryan!"_ Bodil's voice called out. _"Are you there?"_

Seto reacted immediately by using his magic to keep the shower room door shut. The doorknob turned this way and that as someone tried to open it.

 _"Huh, why is the door locked?"_ Husky questioned aloud. _"Ryan? Are you hiding in there? Come out!"_

Seto wondered if they could somehow hear his heart racing at a violent pace. If they could, he wouldn't be surprised...

 _"I thought the shower doors didn't have any locks,"_ Bodil noted. _"Is he holding the door shut?"_

There was a pause before the sound of someone shuffling on the ground filled the air. Seto quickly hid behind the shower curtain, trying his best not to make any noises.

 _"I don't... see anything..."_ Husky murmured as he peered through the slit underneath the door for a few moments before standing up again. _"Still, it's strange how the door won't open. You said there weren't any locks?"_

 _"Yeah... Maybe it's just a Night Time thing?"_ Bodil asked.

 _"That makes sense..."_ Husky replied hesitantly.

Silence.

 _"Husky? What's wrong?"_ Bodil asked, confused.

_"...Hey... Can I... ask you something?"_

_"Uh... sure?"_

_"Do you think... I was being too harsh on Seto?"_

Seto felt all the breath get punched out from his lungs.

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean... I just got on his back like that... and accused him of being one of the spies... and set everyone against him..."_ Husky mumbled. _"I was trying to let everyone live peacefully, but... I feel like I just made things worse... Like I let my fear get the best of me and overreacted..."_

More silence.

 _"I feel like I should apologize,"_ Husky admitted. _"I put too much pressure on him, of course he was too afraid to confess his secret like that right on the spot... Why did I try to...? G-God... What kind of friend am I?"_

 _"Don't blame yourself that much, Husky..."_ Bodil murmured. _"You weren't the only one... I was just thinking of how the one who put us here used magic... But I don't think it was fair to just accuse Seto for that reason... I feel guilty too..."_

 _"But you're not the one who actively targeted him,"_ Husky pointed out.

Bodil didn't reply.

Husky sighed. _"I hope it's not too late for me to make amends,"_ he said, his voice filled with sorrow.

 _"I doubt it. Seto isn't the type to hold a grudge,"_ Bodil said reassuringly. _"I'm sure he'll forgive you!"_

 _"...Thanks_ _Bodil_ _..."_ Husky said, sniffling slightly.

 _"No problem!"_ Bodil said. _"We'll apologize together in the morning!"_

_"Yeah... In the meantime, let's keep looking for Ryan. I guess that sound we heard wasn't someone yelling. We still need to check the wrestling room and then the third floor..."_

The two of them walked away, their footsteps eventually fading until Seto couldn't hear them anymore.

Seto stared down at the razor blade still in his hand. Minutes passed as Seto's mind slowly processed what he had just heard...

He put the razor blade in his pocket and left the shower room, making sure to clean up the remains of his broken shaving razor in the process. He carefully looked outside the locker room and made sure no one was watching him. He heard Husky and Bodil's faint voices in the wrestling room as he snuck past.

Seto headed down the stairs, unsure how he was feeling. He was too exhausted to sort out his emotions at the moment. His mind was blank, completely devoid of coherent thoughts. All he knew was that he wanted to get back to his room without being seen by Husky or Bodil or anyone else. He could go through with his original plan another day.

At least that was his intention. He had already reached the first floor when all of a sudden...

...he heard _it._

_Let's kill merrily, we don't need the adults~!_   
_Can we make one hundred corpses~? Let's have a competition~!_

Seto felt shivers run up and down his spine as he heard the dreadful song play faintly in the distance. _What in the world? Where is that coming from?_ he thought frantically.

_If there's MonoWither, we are invincible~!_   
_Let's play with MonoWither,_ _alw_ _-_

The music was drowned out by the sound of the PA system turning on.

**A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED! Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the Show Trial will begin!**

_...What? A body... discovered?_

Still the chanting, gleeful voices of the singing children echoed in the distance, making Seto's heart pound rapidly in his chest.

_Hunt! Hunt! MonoWither!_

_Torment! Torment! MonoWither!_

_If we all sing together, the blood will_ _overflo_ _-_

Before Seto could fully comprehend the situation, the dim lights shut off and everything went dark. Even the dreadful music stopped playing, which ironically only managed to intensify his fear.

Seto looked around wildly, struggling to keep his breaths quiet. He finally got over his initial panic and quickly formed a magical ball of light in his hands. The eerie purple glow did nothing to ease his anxiety, however.

_What in the... What was that? That horrifying song, the body announcement, and then a sudden blackout? Did_ _Bodil_ _and Husky have anything to do with it?_

Seto rushed to the hallway, wanting to get back to his room as fast as possible, when Annie suddenly burst through her door. "Wh- What the hell is going on?!" she yelled when she saw him. "Was that a body announcement just now?! Why is it so dark?!"

"It's a blackout," Seto said nervously, quickly coming up with a half-lie on the spot. "I... I heard the announcement, and then the lights in my room shut off right afterwards..."

"I was sleeping when I heard it," Annie said, rubbing her eyes and blinking rapidly. "G-God... So it wasn't just a messed-up dream?"

Seto swallowed before shaking his head.

Bonks hesitantly opened her door, peeked at them, before stepping into the hallway. "P-Please tell me I was the only one who heard that..." she whispered.

"I'm sorry Bonks," Annie muttered. "I was hoping for the same thing."

Two more people, Jason and Tyler, emerged from their rooms soon afterwards. "So I'm guessing you all heard it too?" Tyler said.

"Yeah... Unfortunately..." Seto murmured.

"I- I hope it's a malfunction- or something-" Jason stammered.

 _ **"**_ _ **Upupupu**_ _ **!"**_ MonoWither suddenly exclaimed, appearing before them.

"Eek!" Bonks cried out in fright, grabbing onto Annie instinctively.

MonoWither sneered at all of them. "Ooh, what's this? A secret slumber party that we weren't invited too? We're insulted!"

"Shut up and turn the lights back on!" Annie yelled.

"Why should we? You guys shouldn't be walking around at Night Time anyway! Even Withers need our beauty sleep too, you know?"

_I don't think any amount of "beauty sleep" would fix your problem._

"You know full well why we're up. What was that body announcement just now?" Seto demanded.

MonoWither laughed. "Oh, well, it appears a few of your friends just had the surprise of a lifetime!"

"Who's dead?" Tyler asked nervously.

"Geez Tyler, find out yourself! We're not going to spoil our own show!"

Annie growled. "Then can you at least fix the blackout so we can find out who's dead?!"

"Ugh, have a little patience would you? You're so pushy, we're just three Wither heads you know! Besides, we already have a backup generator in case this happens, it just takes awhile to kick in..."

The lights suddenly flashed back on, making everyone cringe as their eyes adjusted.

"Hah! The looks on your faces!" MonoWither exclaimed raucously.

"Haha, hilarious..." Tyler grumbled.

"Great, now we can find out what the hell is going on..." Annie muttered. "Even if I don't want to at all..."

Annie started to step towards the hallway exit when MonoWither hovered in her path, stopping her. "But before you go, don't you want to know about the sleeping potions we sell at the shop?"

"You sell sleeping potions too?!" Bonks asked, horrified.

"Yep! All brewed to perfection! Now there's so many things you can do with sleeping potions; not only can you use them for yourself, you can also use them on other people for various reasons! To transport them to other places, to make them stop snoring, to make them stop tossing and turning in the bed, to slowly kill or torture them with little resistance, all kinds of things! The best part is that if they wake up, they won't remember much of what happened! Just perfect for crimes and dastardly deeds-"

"What are you doing?" Seto asked, gritting his teeth.

"Huh? What do you mean?" MonoWither asked in confusion.

"Why are you distracting us? It almost seems like you're _stalling_ for time..."

"Wh-What? Stalling for time? Why would we _ever_ do such a thing? Honestly Seto, we're hurt! We just wanted to have a friendly chat!"

"That didn't sound friendly at all!" Bonks exclaimed.

"Fine, fine, we get the message! We'll leave! But don't worry about offending us; everything's going so well anyway, our mood won't go down anytime soon! Ciao!" MonoWither disappeared.

"...Was that MonoWither just now?"

Everyone turned around to see Ashley emerge from her room.

"Ashley! Why weren't you here earlier?" Annie asked.

"Well I woke up because of the body announcement, but then the blackout happened and I decided to wait it out in my room. For all I knew it could have been a trap or something..." Ashley replied. "Did anything happen during the blackout? Why was there a body announcement?"

"We have no idea..." Tyler answered hesitantly.

"G-Guys?" Steven asked as he slowly left his room in the back of the hallway, accompanied by Bart and Dave. "What's going on? Wh-What happened? Why was there a blackout?"

"You heard the body announcement, right?" Ashley asked.

"Y-Yeah we did... Oh god, who's dead?!" Steven shrieked, his eyes widening in horror.

"We still don't know, Steven. Calm down for now," Seto murmured. "We were just about to investigate for ourselves since the blackout ended."

"So who's unaccounted for at the moment?" Annie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There's... Husky and Bodil..." Bonks said, swallowing nervously. "Oh, and Jordan, of course... and... Ryan..."

"So that's four possibilities for the body discovered..." Annie murmured, her face paling.

Tyler cleared his throat. "Well, maybe we should see if anyone else is still in their room somehow-"

"No, we shouldn't waste time!" Jason countered. For some reason he seemed strangely panicked, more panicked then the rest of them. "We- We don't know whose body was discovered or how. Three people are needed to discover a body, right? Four people are already missing. It all adds up perfectly! Their lives could be in danger!"

"Danger?" Bonks echoed in confusion.

"MonoWither was stalling for time, right? For all we know... there could be a murderer out there and MonoWither just wanted to give them enough time to finish the job! We need to get to where the missing people are before more bodies show up!"

"You're right," Seto said. "We should hurry right now." Without waiting for a response, both he and Jason left the hallway. Everyone else followed them out into the central hall.

"Did- Did the spies have anything to do with this?" Annie asked.

"It's not important," Steven said with a trembling voice. "What's important right now is looking for the people who are missing. We can't get distracted with things like this! We can worry about it later, after we've discovered what's happened to them. We have to work together!"

"I think we should split up and save more time that way," Seto said. "There's seven of us remaining, right?"

"Nine..." Steven murmured quietly.

"Sorry, nine. Then let's divide ourselves into three groups of three and we'll check each floor."

In the end, Seto, Tyler, and Jason were assigned the third floor; Annie, Ashley, and Bart the second floor; and Bonks, Steven, and Dave the first floor.

"What should we do if anyone finds something?" Ashley asked. "What if the murderer attacks someone?"

"Scream as loud as you can to alert the others," Seto said. "If there's a murderer on the loose, run. Try to defend yourself if it comes to that, but make sure you don't accidentally kill them. Now let's get going before anything else happens."

The groups dispersed. Seto sped up the stairs to the second floor while Tyler and Jason followed him. Seto couldn't stop thinking about how Bodil and Husky had to be on the third floor (of course he could never reveal _how_ he knew). He had just heard them speaking not that long ago, how could things have gone so wrong so quickly?

Seto mentally braced himself for what he might find...

* * *

"Where could Husky _be_?" Jason asked, tearing open a closet door only to find a defective music stand discarded inside (the top of the metal stand where the music papers were placed had a slight dent, as though it had been squished). He growled in frustration and hurled the music stand out, letting it clatter deafeningly on the floor, before slamming the door shut. "Where are they?! Where could they be?!"

"Jason, calm down," Tyler said quietly as he scanned the music room. "I know it's hard, but freaking out won't help matters."

"It's easy for _you_ to say!" Jason yelled before pausing. "S-Sorry, I just..."

"Everything's okay," Seto said reassuringly. He opened one of the doors at the back of the stage to see a giant room with different instrument cases strewn about.

"H-He promised... he'd stay safe..." Jason whispered forlornly. "He said that he'd make it out alive..."

"We haven't found a body yet, have we?" Seto asked, kneeling down to open one of the cases to find a black oboe lying inside. He carefully closed it again.

"...That doesn't exactly make me feel better..." Jason responded bluntly.

"What I meant is, until we find out the truth, there's no point trying to think about the worst possibilities," Seto murmured.

Tyler entered the room Seto was in, blinked in confusion at all the cases scattered across the floor, before seeing something in the back. "Woah, look at this giant cello!" Tyler exclaimed, making his way through the piles of instrument cases towards it. He struggled to lift it up so it was leaning against the wall. "Geez, this cello's a little bit taller than me!"

"...That's a double bass," Jason replied.

"Oh... Not sure what the difference is, but okay. Double bass. Looks more like a giant cello to me."

"I'm pretty sure if Bart were here, he'd be screaming at you."

"I was a drama kid in high school, okay? Not an orchestra kid. Cut me some slack!"

"Well I wasn't an orchestra kid either and even I knew that!"

"That's a double bass?" Seto asked curiously.

"Uh, yeah, according to Jason... Why?" Tyler questioned.

Seto stared at all the cases on the floor and frowned suspiciously. "...That double bass shouldn't be there. Logically it should be in one of these cases," he murmured.

"That's true..." Jason said quietly. "What are you getting at?"

Seto stepped carefully around the piles and found a rather large pear-shaped one that appeared as though it could reasonably fit a double bass. He cautiously pressed down on it, only to feel a hard, smooth surface. He undid the clasps anyway and opened it to reveal another double bass inside. Seto closed the case, unable to stop his arms from trembling in apprehension. "Can someone help me find that instrument's case?" he asked shakily.

"Uh, I think this is one..." Tyler said, pointing at a case that was actually zippered shut.

Seto made his way over to it and pressed down on the fabric. Chills ran up and down his spine as he felt something that was most definitely _not_ a wooden instrument, but rather...

"Oh dear god," Seto whispered, all the blood draining from his face.

"Wh-What? What is it?!" Jason asked anxiously, racing over to them.

Seto grabbed the zipper and quickly pulled at it, tearing open the case as fast as he could. He hurriedly lifted the cover to reveal what was inside, his heart skipping a beat once he saw what it contained.

His body limp and motionless... Blood coating the back of his head and staining the front of his clothes... His eyes undoubtedly closed behind his red sunglasses...

Jordan was the one lying inside the case.

Tyler screamed in unadulterated horror and shot backwards, distancing himself from the body as much as possible. "NO! OH MY GOD NO!"

Jason clamped his hands over his mouth. "This- This can't be happening- oh god-"

"Calm down," Seto murmured as he grasped Jordan's wrist with his fingers.

"C-Calm down!?" Tyler shrieked. "CALM DOWN!? JORDAN'S DEAD, HE'S FUCKING DEAD-!"

"No he isn't," Seto replied, letting go of Jordan. "I can feel his pulse and he's breathing perfectly fine."

"Then- Then why is he unconscious?!" Jason asked, horrified. "And what's with all the blood?"

Seto paused and sniffed the crimson stain carefully. "...That's strange..." he murmured, rubbing his fingers in the stain curiously.

"Th-That's just gross..." Jason whispered, staring at Seto with a disturbed expression and shuddering. "Why would you touch the blood?"

"It's not blood, it's ketchup..." Seto said after a moment, smearing the sauce from his fingers onto the floor.

"What the, _ketchup_?!" Tyler asked, kneeling down to get a closer look. "Oh my god, you're right!"

"So he isn't injured at all, is he?" Jason questioned.

"Well, the blood on the back of his head is real," Seto pointed out. "As for why he's unconscious... I have a feeling this is why MonoWither started talking about sleeping potions for seemingly no reason."

"Sleeping potion? He was drugged?" Tyler inquired with wide eyes.

Seto grabbed Jordan's shoulder and turned him over onto his side. "That seems to be the case. Look, there's glass on the back of his head. That's why he's slightly bleeding there. Doesn't seem to be serious, though."

"We- We should get the others..." Jason whispered.

Seto nodded as he inspected Jordan's head. Fortunately, it didn't seem like there were any glass bits stuck inside the impact wound. "That would be a good idea. Tell them to get antiseptic and bandages too..."

* * *

"S-So Jordan was attacked by someone?!" Steven asked, his face as pale as a ghost's as he stared down at the still-unconscious man.

Seto nodded grimly as he finished applying the bandages around Jordan's head. "That's the only way this could have happened."

"But why didn't they just kill him? Why just put him to sleep and go through the trouble of stashing his body in the instrument case?" Ashley whispered. "It doesn't make sense... And we still haven't found any sign of Bodil, Husky, or even Ryan..."

"Well hopefully he'll wake up soon and he can tell us what happened to them," Bonks murmured.

"...He probably won't remember," Seto muttered.

"Wh- You mean MonoWither was telling the truth about that?" Annie asked, appalled.

"He was. Sleeping potions tend to leave the user with short-term memory loss, so he most likely won't remember what happened right before he got knocked out. That, or it'll be incredibly unclear."

"Goddamn it... At least he isn't dead, though..." Jason murmured, turning away.

At this point Jordan shifted slightly and mumbled something incoherently.

"Wait, I think he's waking up!" Seto called out.

Jordan clenched and unclenched his fingers, groaning. "Ugh..."

"Jordan?" Steven asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking it. "Come on Jordan, wake up!"

"...Wh... What..." Jordan's eyes cracked open and he blinked slowly, taking a few moments to process what he was seeing. "What... happened..."

"How are you feeling?" Seto asked gently.

Jordan slowly reached behind his head, delicately fingering the bandages. He frowned. "Uh... I feel kinda... dizzy... everything's really loopy... Feels like the time when I got my appendix removed and the drugs didn't wear off... Did I hit my head or something?"

Ashley pursed her lips together. "Well... Sort of..."

Jordan confusedly brushed his hand over the ketchup on his suit and suddenly shot up, tugging at it in bewilderment. "Who- What the- Oh my god, what the f-"

"Jordan," Seto murmured.

"Why the fuck is there _blood_ on my clothes-"

_"Jordan."_

Jordan breathed shakily and carded a trembling hand through his hair. "Sorry, sorry I just..." he murmured. "Can someone please explain what's going on?"

"Um... We don't really know ourselves..." Bonks said tentatively.

"First of all, you'll be glad to know that that's ketchup, not actual blood," Seto clarified.

"Oh. Ketchup." Jordan paused. "Ketchup?"

"Yeah, that's pretty... strange..." Annie said sheepishly.

"Is this some sort of prank or something? I'm so confused..."

"Well you're not the only one," Steven noted.

"I'm pretty sure at this point that this isn't a prank..." Ashley said quietly.

"More importantly, what do you remember?" Jason demanded. "How were you attacked? Who attacked you, and where?"

Jordan paused and furrowed his eyebrows, pursing his lips tightly as he concentrated. "I... I was... Uh..." He trailed off and pressed his hands on his temples, shutting his eyes tightly. "Crap, I can't think properly right now... It's all just a blur, for some reason..."

"Well, you _were_ hit with a sleeping potion," Tyler explained. "And then your attacker just hid you inside this instrument case for some reason."

"Sleeping potion, huh?" Jordan muttered, rubbing his bandages again. That was when his eyes widened. "Jerry!" he gasped, quickly scrambling to his feet before his legs gave way and he collapsed to his knees. "Jerry- Where's Jerry!?"

"Isn't Jerry in your room?" Annie asked anxiously.

"No! I tried leaving them there but they just kept slipping underneath the doorway, so I took them with me to..." Jordan trailed off, confusion crossing his face again. "To... To do something..." He shook his head and looked around wildly. "Jerry! Jerry, where are you?!"

"Okay, where did you see them last?" Seto asked, struggling to calm him down.

"I... I don't know, all I know is that they were with me when... when I was attacked, I think..."

"Do you think they ran away?" Steven suggested.

"M-Maybe... Hopefully that's just what happened... and they didn't get hurt..."

Bart looked across the room and suddenly ran over to a back corner. Seto could barely see the thin coat of green film on the floor right before it violently coalesced back into a cube, startled. Jerry started hopping away frantically but Bart snatched them up and walked back to where Jordan was.

Jordan gasped and reached his hands out. "Jerry!" Jerry promptly leapt into his open arms, knocking him over. Jordan still cradled the slime tightly, laughing in relief. "I can't believe you were here with me the whole time! I'm so glad you're safe!"

Jerry began happily absorbing the ketchup from Jordan's suit.

"Well, at least that's settled..." Jason muttered, turning away.

"Jason?" Bonks asked, concerned with his tone of voice.

"...Jordan... Did you see Husky or Bodil anywhere?" Jason asked desperately. "Please, please try to remember..."

Jordan stared at the floor. "I... I think I was going out to meet someone..." His eyes widened in recollection. "H-Hold on, I- I think I was going out to meet Husky! Yeah, that's it! I was going out to meet Husky! I can't remember why, though... I can't remember when or where I was attacked, even, it's all fuzzy..."

"Did you see him at all?" Jason demanded.

Jordan shook his head. "I'm pretty sure I didn't... Well, unless he's the one who, um, you know-"

"You are _not_ implying what I think you're implying," Jason hissed, anger flashing across his face.

Jordan's stared back at him, stunned. "I- I mean-"

"Husky _wouldn't_ do that."

"I was just-"

"He _wouldn't_."

"Sorry..." Jordan murmured, backing off.

Jason kicked one of the instrument cases and grunted in frustration. "We're just wasting time! Has anyone seen any sign of Husky or Bodil!?"

"No..." Ashley said quietly, worry etched onto her face.

"Still no sign of Ryan either..." Tyler murmured sadly.

"Are you sure you guys have checked _everywhere_?" Seto asked.

"Yes we did!" Steven said, fear making his voice higher-pitched than usual. "We've checked everywhere, but it seems like they just vanished like Ryan did!"

 _"_ _Upupupu_ _!"_ MonoWither giggled, appearing before them. "What's this? More people missing?"

"Where the hell are they?!" Jason cried out, balling his hands into fists. "Tell us, goddamn it!'

"And spoil the mystery? No, this is so entertaining for us to watch! All of you guys hysterically running about, knowing so little about the whole situation... This is hilarious!"

"Did you do something to them?" Annie growled. "Did you hurt them?"

"Us? Not really, nope! We just watched, like respectable hosts! But don't worry, we're sure you can figure it out soon enough! You don't need our help at all, so we guess we'll just leave you guys to it! Remember: we have faith in you!" They winked before disappearing, just like their absent friends.

"...Perhaps we should check their rooms," Seto said quietly, unable to think of anything else. This whole situation was just making him nauseous. "Who knows, they might still be in there... Only a few people should come with me though, the rest of you guys should keep looking around in case one of them shows up."

"I'll go with you," Tyler said, walking over to him.

"If anyone could find them, it would probably be you," Jason murmured.

Ashley wordlessly made her way to Seto, seeming to agree with him.

The four of them left the music room and made their way from the third floor.

* * *

"Look, there's no way they could be in this building," Ashley murmured as they walked down the steps. "I highly doubt they're still in their rooms; otherwise, the body discovery announcement wouldn't have rung. We've checked every floor, every inch. Unless they're on the floors higher than the third one, there's no way they're still here."

"M-MonoWither must have done something to them..." Tyler whispered. "They said they didn't, but I don't believe them at all..."

"What if they managed to escape?" Jason asked hopefully, although the terrified look in his eyes indicated that he didn't think that was possible.

Seto bit his lip, trying to recall Husky and Bodil's conversation that he had unintentionally eavesdropped on. Neither Husky nor Bodil said much about _where_ they were going to look for Ryan, so that meant they could be anywhere. He'd assumed that they were on the third floor, since Seto had last heard them on the second floor, but could he have been mistaken about something?

Jordan might have known something, but he couldn't remember due to the sleeping potion...

At this point they left the second floor, descended the stairs, and entered the central hall. Seto was walking by the two elevators when he stopped. All of a sudden, chills raced up and down his spine and his heartbeat raced as a terrible idea crossed his mind.

What if...

"Seto?" Ashley asked, noticing the strange look that had crossed his face.

Seto swallowed down his fear. "N-Nothing..." he said quietly. "I... I just have this feeling..."

"What feeling?" Tyler asked.

Without responding, Seto walked up to the left elevator, which still had the wooden "DO NOT ENTER" sign hanging over the entrance. He pressed the button for the left elevator and the doors only moved barely as they tried to separate. MonoWither's Special Paste was still keeping them stuck together.

"They can't be in there..." Ashley said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, the glue's still there keeping the doors shut," Jason said. "MonoWither put that there already, even before Ryan disappeared."

"Wait! Let Seto make sure!" Tyler said.

Seto would have smiled with gratitude were he not filled with a strange sense of impending doom. He pressed his hands together and his palms began to glow purple. Seto struggled to spread his hands apart and the elevator doors shook at the glue gradually began to unstick. The sorcerer grunted with exertion until finally the doors separated and quickly slid open...

Time seemed to stop completely.

Jason let out an earsplitting scream of horror and took several steps back.

"Oh- Oh my god-" Tyler stammered, his face turning as pale as snow.

Ashley stood there, her pupils dilating as her black eyes widened with shock.

Seto was rooted to the spot. The sight before him, the utterly terrible sight, this couldn't be real...

 _Why?_ was all he could think. _Why? Why? Why?_

Lying there on the floor of the elevator shaft was the broken body of none other than Bodil, who was lying on his back with his right arm splayed out at an awkward angle. All of his bones seemed to be shattered, especially the ones in his legs, and his eyes were closed.

"No..." Jason murmured, shaking his head repeatedly as his face twisted with anguish. "No, no, no... No... This can't be happening..."

"Bodil?" Tyler whispered, trembling where he stood. "He's dead?"

"What the hell is going on?!" Annie shouted, running down the steps towards them. "Why did someone scream-"

She halted in her tracks as she too saw the body.

Jordan, following right behind her while holding onto Jerry, stopped as well. Both of them were too shocked to speak.

Bonks reached the first floor next and let out a shriek of terror and shock. "BODIL!"

"What happened?!" Steven cried out. "J-Jordan?! Annie?! Bonks?! What's going on?!" He stepped forward, but Bart and Dave suddenly grabbed him and started to pull him back. Bart covered Steven's eyes with his hands and Dave held his arms immobile in an attempt to prevent Steven from moving. Steven struggled desperately to free himself, but was unsuccessful. "Let me go! Bart! Dave! Wait!" he shouted as the two dragged him away. Bart looked behind him before teleporting all three of them to some other place.

Bonks shielded her eyes with her hands. "I can't look..." she whimpered. "It's just too horrible..."

Annie finally found her voice. "He's dead?! Bodil's... dead?!"

"Not yet..." Ashley said in a faint voice.

"What?" Jordan asked, shocked. "How can he not be dead?"

Ashley walked over and knelt down by Bodil's body. "He's still breathing..." she said with a hushed tone, unable to believe her eyes.

"Wh-What?!" Tyler asked, crouching by her side. "Oh god, you're right..."

Only now could Seto see how Bodil's chest was rising and falling ever so slightly, although his breathing sounded shallow and labored. Both of his legs were broken somehow, and Seto felt like throwing up when he mentally pictured his shin bones sticking out. His right shoulder was swollen, appearing to be dislocated. Nevertheless, he was still alive, somehow still able to cling onto life...

"Oh dear, looks like the murderer didn't really do their job properly, did they?" MonoWither asked suddenly. "His bones may be broken, but Bodil's still alive! Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that'll be the case for much longer!"

"...Save him," Ashley murmured.

"What?"

"I said, _save him_ ," Ashley repeated, this time with more conviction. She looked up to glare at the hovering machine, unshed tears clinging onto her eyelashes. "You have to save him."

"And why would we do that?" MonoWither asked tauntingly. "Because you said so? You don't get to boss us around! You really think we'd _save_ Bodil? Come on, Ashley! This reality show is about killing, not about saving lives! Let nature take its course!"

Ashley grit her teeth, bitter anger consuming her expression. Even Seto, who wasn't on the receiving end of her fury, was afraid for his own safety. "There's no way in hell I'm letting Bodil die slowly like this. You've already gotten your share of fun, watching us run around aimlessly. Isn't that enough for you?"

"Of course not! We want an entertaining death, and we're getting it no matter what!"

"Is this really entertaining for you?" Seto cut in. "Is this really what you think you want?"

"What do you mean, Seto?" MonoWither asked, bewildered.

"Look at Bodil. Look at how he's lying there. His legs are broken, and from the sound of his breathing, his broken ribs might have punctured a lung, if not both of them. If he doesn't get treatment soon, he'll die an extremely slow death. Is that really 'entertainment' in your eyes? A slow, uneventful death from gradual blood loss?"

Everyone turned to stare at Seto, as though appalled that he would describe Bodil's death in such a casual manner. Seto refused to let that affect him. After all, this might be the only way to convince MonoWither...

"Hmm... You know, you _do_ make an excellent point..." MonoWither murmured.

"Only you would think that, you sick, twisted little..." Annie said in a deadly voice before trailing off.

"You've already got five deaths so far," Jordan said, catching onto Seto's motive. "So many of us are already dead. Isn't that satisfying enough to the viewers? Besides, like Seto said, Bodil is going to die slowly at this rate, and you don't have many participants left for your show... Don't you want your show to last as long as possible?"

MonoWither paused for a few moments. "...Well then! We've made our decision! Everyone out of the way!"

A few seconds passed before a gurney came rolling from the second floor and came to a halt in front of the elevators.

Seto rushed over to Bodil, who was somewhat rising to consciousness as he started mumbling incoherently, twitching and moaning in pain. "His shoulder's badly dislocated..." Seto noted numbly.

Ashley nodded and carefully positioned Bodil's arm so that it was at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to the floor. "...Sorry Bodil..." she whispered quietly before rotating the arm, snapping the shoulder back into the joint. There was an audible popping sound and Bodil's body jerked as he let out a piercing _howl_ that made everyone wince in sympathy. He didn't open his eyes, however, and promptly went limp once more. His breathing evened out, but only slightly.

Seto lowered the gurney so that the mattress was practically touching the floor. Fearing that Bodil had spinal injuries from whatever had shattered his bones, he chose to drag Bodil's body onto the gurney rather than lift him. Jordan helped strap the body into place and raise the gurney back up.

"Now don't you worry your pretty little heads over Bodil!" MonoWither declared. All three heads were now wearing doctor masks over their mouths. "Dr. MonoWither promises that they'll treat him with the best of care in the infirmary! He'll be good as new!"

The gurney seemed to move on its own accord as it transported Bodil up the stairs, disappearing from sight.

"Th-Thank god we found him in time..." Bonks whispered. "He almost died..."

Ashley silently nodded in agreement, closing her eyes and losing herself to her own thoughts.

Tyler, who was still kneeling by the spot where Bodil had lain, noticed that Bodil had been lying on top of something. "...What are these?" he asked, picking up a broken wooden piece and staring at it.

Seto stared at the shattered wooden pieces scattered all over the bottom of the elevator shaft. Had Bodil's attacker beaten him up with something? It was quite strange...

"Wh-Where's Husky?" Jason stuttered, his voice consumed with fear and terror. "He- He's still missing- What if he's like Bodil, except instead of alive he's-"

"We still need to check the other one," Seto said quietly. As much as he didn't want to, as much as his mind screamed at him not to do it, he stood up and made his way over to the elevator on the right. Apprehension built up inside of him as he hesitated for a moment before shaking the feeling away. He needed to do this, no matter what horrible sight awaited them...

Using his magic, Seto successfully pried the doors apart with a strained cry.

Jason took one look inside before his pupils dilated and he started stammering frantically. "N-No- Oh god no- this can't be happening- No- No- Fuck no-"

His back was facing the group outside the shaft, but it was unmistakably Husky's body lying there on his side, utterly still and lifeless. His blood, horribly crimson in hue, stained the floor beneath him.

Jason quickly darted over to Husky's side and practically collapsed to his knees, his cerulean eyes filling up with tears. He slowly grasped Husky's shoulder before turning the body over so that he was lying on his back. Strangely enough, there was a large cut on the side of his abdomen, but the skin surrounding it was a sickly green. The most apparent wound, however, was the crimson-red smile that had been sliced on his pale neck.

Poor Jason looked ready to pass out at the sight. He gulped as he gently clutched his fallen friend's hand, holding the limp arm up and staring at it. "You... promised..." Jason whispered shakily as he clenched the hand tighter, gripping it like a lifeline. "You... You promised you'd stay safe... You promised you wouldn't die... You promised you'd make it out of here... Why... _Why didn't you keep your damn promise?!_ " The brunette burst into heartbroken sobs, almost drowning in his own tears as he noisily gasped for air. _"YOU PROMISED!"_ Jason shrieked in anguish. _"YOU PROMISED THIS WOULDN'T HAPPEN! YOU FUCKING PROMISED YOU ASSHOLE!"_ He bent his head over, several tears dripping down onto Husky's forehead as he wept inconsolably.

Everyone else was too shocked to speak. If this was one of those fairy tales that Seto used to love listening to as a boy, this would be the part where the fallen prince woke up, revived by the heartbroken tears shed by his beloved. But this wasn't a fairy tale. There were no "happy-ever-afters", no pleasant miracles, nothing. This was cold, harsh reality, where everyone's hopes inexorably succumbed to despair...

And then Husky opened his eyes.

Seto thought he was hallucinating at first. How was he still clinging to life? His throat was clearly slit open, the cut too deep to not be a mortal wound.

Jason let out a surprised gasp. "Husky! You're alive!"

Husky blinked sluggishly, his eyes struggling to fixate on Jason's face. When he tried to speak, the gash on his throat spurted blood. "I... Gh... broke my mega-best-friend promise... huh..."

Jason removed his blue jacket and pressed it down on the injury, the injury that by all means should have been fatal. "Shut up! You're making it worse!"

"I... I see... stars..." Husky slurred faintly, his speech broken by several shuddering coughs. "So... bright... so... many..." He smiled slightly, his eyes becoming more and more vacant as his thoughts drifted. He raised his trembling arm and deliriously tried to point at Jason's sky-blue irises. "They're... reaching out to me... I feel... like I'm flying... at the speed of light... towards them..."

"Shut up- SHUT UP!" Jason screamed, failing to stop the incessant bleeding from Husky's throat. His jacket was now stained with warm blood, reaching the palms of his hands. "P-Please- Stay here- Don't leave me here- You have to hang on-"

Husky's breathing grew increasingly labored by the second. He drew in a shaky gasp. "They're... calling for me... saying... it'll be okay... the pain... will go... away... I'll be okay... Everyone... will be okay..."

Jordan knelt down beside Husky, anguish twisting his face, before forcing himself to speak. "Who did this to you, Husky? Can you remember? Tell us who did this to you..."

Husky frowned, temporarily brought back down to reality. "Who... did this...? Ah... I don't... know... I couldn't... see... them... Everything... happened... so fast... Sorry... Jason... I tried... to keep... the promise... Did my best..."

Jason started to sob again. "Husky- I'm sorry- Please forgive me- I shouldn't- I shouldn't have- I'm so, so sorry I didn't-"

"-Ryan."

"Huh?"

Husky's eyes were wide now, wide with a sudden realization. "Ryan..." he repeated. "R... Ryan... he... he was... the... the..." Husky let out choking coughs that sent more blood spilling from his gaping throat and his mouth. His dark eyes looked up at Jason's, focusing on them for one last moment, before they faded and turned glassy.

Jason's shrieking wail of anguish pierced the air, echoing throughout the silent room, as everyone hung their heads in grief.

Husky's body went still as he lost himself in the beautiful, glimmering stars of space.

**A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED! Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the Show Trial will begin!**


	30. Fish Out of Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: I'm going on vacation tomorrow and I have mild food poisoning, pray for me :'D)

For a few minutes, no one knew what to say. Just like that, Husky was gone.

Husky, the one who had wanted everyone to live in peace. The one who had looked out for everyone. The one who had always wanted to help others.

Just like that, Husky was gone.

Just. Like. That.

Jordan, still kneeling by Husky's side, turned to face the anguished, grieving man next to him. Sympathy crossed Jordan's face as he gently rested his hand on Jason's shoulder. Jason's sobs and wails eventually subsided to choked, tearful hiccups. He drew in quick, shuddering breaths as he wiped his eyes with trembling hands, sniffling. Then he grasped his jacket, which was still lying on top of Husky's body, and moved it so that it was solemnly draped over Husky's cold, empty face.

Jason stared down at the shrouded corpse, his blue eyes frosting over as his hands balled into fists. "...Husky... said that Ryan was the killer... didn't he?" His hollow voice trembled with rage. "Ryan... did this to him... Out of all people... he was the one who did this..."

"...Jason?" Bonks whispered, too scared to say anything else.

"...Ryan's hiding again, isn't he? The goddamn coward... If he knows what's good for him, he'll _stay_ hidden... Because if I find him, I'm going to make him _beg_ for mercy, make him _wish_ he was dying from MonoWither's execution instead..."

Tyler's face paled. "Jason, what are you saying-!?"

"You know exactly what I'm saying," Jason growled. "I swear, I'm going to make Ryan _pay_ for what he did... I'll do whatever it takes, even if it costs my own life..."

"We don't even know if Ryan did it..." Annie said hesitantly. "Husky might have been mistaken-"

Jason laughed bitterly. "Mistaken? Ryan's the only one who hasn't been accounted for. The killer _has_ to be him."

Bonks mustered the courage to pipe up. "J-Jason, please think rationally about this-"

"Think _rationally?!_ You want me to _think rationally?!_ Husky's dead, how the fuck am I supposed to do that!" Jason shrieked.

Bonks flinched and looked away.

"Jason," Seto started.

Jason brought his hands to the sides of his head, clenching his hair tightly. "Don't- Don't- Just- Stop it! Leave me alone!"

"Jason-"

 _"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!"_ Jason breathed raggedly as he hunched over. "Just... leave me alone..."

 _"Aw, what a tragedy..."_ MonoWither bemoaned. "Poor, poor Husky... All he wanted to do was help you guys live together in peace and harmony, but he just ended up being gruesomely killed and _betrayed_ by a friend of his... It's so tragically ironic!"

MonoWither's words sent Seto reeling. He wasn't sure if Ryan truly was the killer, but one thing was for sure. Husky had been murdered by one of them when all he'd wanted to do was find Ryan and ensure everyone's safety...

Had Husky come to that despairing realization in his final moments?

And while Seto was at it, was the killer also the same person who had caused Bodil's brutal injuries? Somehow shattered his whole body and broke his bones until he was at the brink of death?

Who amongst them was capable of such horrific, awful acts? Was it truly Ryan, as Jason believed? It was possible that Ryan had snapped... But could he be sure?

"Well, there's no use delaying it any longer. Besides, it should all be routine by now! Make use of the investigation time wisely and don't dawdle around! And, as is tradition... Here's the MonoWither File #3!" The tablet landed in Seto's hands.

"Good luck! We have confidence in all of you!" The machine winked before disappearing.

"Investigation time?" Tyler echoed, briefly confused. "O-Oh... I... totally forgot about that..."

"And now we have to go through another trial..." Jordan murmured, closing his eyes.

"Why does this keep on happening?" Bonks whispered, unshed tears clinging to her eyelashes. "I don't want to do this... I never have..."

"It's what we have to do," Ashley said, her dark eyes flashing. "It's what we have to do, or else we'll die too..."

"So what do we do?" Annie asked.

"...Just like last time," Seto said quietly. "We spread out, making sure we don't miss any possible clues."

"...I'll stay here and guard Husky..." Jason muttered, turning away from the group.

Seto felt like there wasn't a point in assigning someone else to join Jason, so he just nodded. It was clear that Jason just wanted to be left alone for the moment.

"We shouldn't waste time," Seto concluded. "Let's get moving."

The group hesitated before gradually dispersing. Seto looked at the MonoWither File and turned on the tablet. The screen lit up to show Husky's silhouette, which showed the bloody gash on his left side and his slit throat.

_"The victim is Husky, the Super Duper_ _Minecrafter_ _Level TNT Tester. He died in the elevator shaft at approximately 1:13 am. He suffered a laceration to the side, but the killing blow was ultimately a slit throat. There were no other relevant injuries sustained before death."_

"...Helpful..." Seto muttered sarcastically, reading the description once more before shutting off the tablet.

"What, did it say anything new?" Tyler asked.

"Given that it just reiterated what we already knew, no it didn't," Seto replied. He decided that if he wanted anything useful, he probably needed to examine the body himself...

"Jason?" Seto asked, kneeling by his side.

Jason imperceptibly turned his head, his one sign of acknowledgment. Seto could see that he was holding the silver, glittery star that Husky had given him just a few days ago.

"I need to check Husky's... um... body..."

All Jason did was close his eyes, so Seto sighed and slowly removed Jason's jacket from Husky's corpse. He struggled not to grimace at the sight of his wounds. First, he examined the mortal wound itself. The cut was both deep and wide. Seto could not figure out how Husky had managed to survive with a slit throat like that for so long. Death should have occurred in a matter of seconds, if not minutes. Yet Husky had held on somehow...

Seto ignored that thought and checked the gash on Husky's side. The edges were tinged with green for some reason. Although it was a nasty blow, it wouldn't have been enough to kill Husky. It would have definitely impeded his movements severely, however...

Finally, Seto checked Husky's pockets to see if there was anything useful. His fingers touched glass and he pulled out a potion flask filled with a bright red liquid. _A Potion of Healing_... Seto thought. Husky probably hadn't had the opportunity to use it during the attack, but even if he had, it wouldn't have done much to help him survive a slit throat of all things. He searched his other pocket and found nothing other than his room key and e-Handbook. Seto solemnly gazed one last time at Husky's face, mentally wished him well in the afterlife, before covering him once more with Jason's jacket.

"...I forgive you..." Seto mumbled, bowing his head and closing his eyes.

A few moments later, Seto stood up and left Jason alone with Husky. He found Tyler in the adjacent elevator where Bodil had lain, examining the wooden pieces.

"I'm trying to see what these are - or, well, uh, _were_ supposed to be," Tyler muttered in frustration. "Problem is, they're too splintered..."

Seto stared at the pieces, trying to mentally picture what they could have been together as a whole, but couldn't figure it out. Had it been a weapon of sorts? Or had it been something Bodil had used for some reason? There were too many possibilities to consider. In the end, he chose to take a photo using his e-Handbook and saved the puzzle for later.

"Come on, we can't waste time," Seto told Tyler. "I want to check something out in the infirmary."

* * *

 _"You cannot enter at this moment,"_ MonoWither said, grinning as they hovered in front of the infirmary entrance.

"Why not?" Tyler asked, raising his eyebrows.

"There's apparently an operation going on inside! Seems like Bodil got himself hurt somehow!"

"What do you mean 'apparently' an operation?" Seto demanded suspiciously. "Got himself hurt 'somehow'?"

"Hey, hey, what's with the tone?" MonoWither snapped.

"It sounds more like someone _told_ you instead of you witnessing it yourself," Seto replied. "Care to explain?"

MonoWither was silent.

"Hey, he asked you a question!" Tyler shouted.

Seto could faintly hear the sound of gears churning inside MonoWither. "Something's not right with MonoWither..."

Tyler snorted. "You thought something was right with them in the first place?"

"No, but... they're acting even stranger than normal..." Seto pointed out. "Look, they haven't responded at all, they're just hovering in the air-"

_"ERROR."_

"Wh-What?" Tyler looked extremely confused now.

_"ERROR. ERROR."_

"Huh. Stupid machine finally broke," Tyler muttered.

_"ERROR. AUTOMATICALLY REBOOTING AUTOPILOT MODE IN 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."_

MonoWither blinked before suddenly frowning. "...What are you guys doing here?"

Seto and Tyler looked at each other.

"Why are you trying to get in the infirmary?" they snapped. "It's off-limits!"

"...To investigate, obviously," Seto replied. "Of course, you can make things easier by telling us if the infirmary had anything to with the murder."

"Murder? Ooh, we like murder! Murder is fun and entertaining!" MonoWither's eyes widened in excitement before the machine frowned again. "Wait, there was a murder?"

"Oh for the love of- Stop messing around with us!" Tyler yelled in exasperation.

"Hey Seto, when did you start hanging around with Tyler all of a sudden?" MonoWither asked, ogling at both of them. "We thought you were more into _Sky_!"

Seto felt all the breath fade from his lungs at the mention of that name. "Wh-What?" he asked, utterly confused.

"Yeah, you always liked Sky, at least that's what our data tells us! Now, why don't you run off and go see what Sky's doing instead of dawdling around here!"

For some reason, the mention of Sky's name had thrown him for the loop and he couldn't concentrate. Seto started stammering incoherently. "Y-You- What are you-" His hands balled into fists as anger flared up inside of him. "Don't _fucking_ mess with me!" he shrieked angrily. "H-How dare you- How dare you mention his name and- and pretend like you didn't kill him yourselves, you bastards!"

"Seto!" Tyler cried out, grabbing his shoulder fearfully. "Seto, calm down! MonoWither's broken, that reboot must have done something!"

Seto breathed raggedly and struggled to pull himself together. "R-Reboot?"

"Yeah, didn't you hear them? They rebooted, and now I guess they forgot everything or something..."

"...What's a reboot?"

Tyler gave him a strange look. "Um... Well when a computer isn't working, sometimes you have to turn it off and turn it back on so that it works again..."

"...Oh..." Seto mumbled, his face heating up with humiliation. "I... um... knew that, of course..."

"Ah, so we rebooted, huh?" MonoWither asked. "That explains why the dates are all wrong! Hold on, we'll just make some changes!"

They went silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Wow, everything makes more sense now! We were so behind! Twas a blast from the past, haha! And we thought Sky was still alive, oh dear! What a shame!"

Seto flinched and Tyler glowered at them.

"So you wanted to know if anything was important in the infirmary? Well, all we'll tell you is that the log registers Husky entering the infirmary at 11:42 pm! What was he doing in there? It's not that difficult to figure out! Now scram, the clock is ticking and you don't want to run out of investigation time!"

"You're the one who wasted our time in the first place," Seto grumbled, turning away. "Come on Tyler."

Tyler gave MonoWither one last glare for good measure before following Seto. They started walking up the steps to the third floor.

"Do you know where Steven went?" Seto asked.

Tyler shook his head. "Not a clue. Bart and Dave really didn't want Steven to see what happened, huh?"

"...Yeah..." Seto replied thoughtfully. "I bet they took him as far away as possible..."

* * *

Sure enough, they found Steven, Bart, and Dave in the music room. The three of them were sitting in chairs with Steven in the middle, staring at his hands clasped in his lap. "L-Look, I know I've been having a few... um... _bad dreams_ recently, but that doesn't mean you have to drag me away..." Steven mumbled, twiddling his thumbs.

Bart tapped something on his arm.

"Well yeah, but they're going to describe it anyway during the trial... I'm no help like this if I'm not joining the investigation... I feel useless..."

Seto cleared his throat. "Ahem, Steven?"

Steven flinched and whirled his head to face Seto and Tyler, who were walking towards them. "Oh- Hi Seto..."

"You all right?" Tyler asked, concerned.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." Steven said, forcing a slight smile that faded quickly. "I'm... I'm sorry I'm not being helpful at all... It's just that I'm feeling a little... um... unwell..."

"Hey, we get it," Tyler reassured. "Don't worry about it."

Steven sighed in relief. "Thanks..." He paused. "Poor Husky..." he whispered sadly, his eyes drooping. "I almost didn't believe it when Bonks told me..."

"...Yeah..." Seto murmured.

"How did this happen again?" Steven asked, terrified. "It- It couldn't have been because of the motive, right?"

"I- Uh- Well..." Tyler said, trailing off as his eyes widened in realization.

The motive. In the midst of all the chaos that was going on, Seto had completely forgotten about the motive MonoWither had given just a few hours ago... He hadn't really given it a second thought. After all, surely no one was that selfish enough to kill for money?

Seto forced himself to stop thinking about it. No, there was no use in dwelling on the killer's motive for now. Right now he needed to concentrate on the investigation at hand. "There are more pressing issues to consider," Seto stated.

"Yeah, you're right..." Steven said dejectedly.

"...Since you're here, could you check this room for us?" Seto asked.

"Sure, I can do that!" Steven replied, leaping to his feet. "I promise I'll be as helpful as possible!"

Seto nodded. "Take care," he said before turning around and leaving the music room. Steven waved goodbye to them.

* * *

"Huh, strange..." Seto murmured as he peered into one of the cabinets in the dance room. The extension cords that had been in there before were still present, but strangely enough, someone had undone the Velcro strap. He grabbed the cords but quickly dropped them, cursing mentally. They were burning to the touch.

"Why is it so hot in here?" Tyler complained, fanning his face with his hands.

"It is?" Seto asked, perplexed.

"Yeah, it was like that when we were searching for Husky and Bodil. Didn't you notice? I mean, geez, you're still wearing that cloak! Aren't you sweating in there?"

Seto stared down, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, my cloak is magical... so it regulates my temperature..."

"Lucky..." Tyler grumbled. "I wonder if we can turn on the AC- Oh, there it is!" He ran over to the thermostat on the wall and reached for one of the buttons.

"Wait!" Seto called out, running up to him.

Tyler immediately halted and turned to him, confused. "Huh?"

"Was the dance room this hot before today?"

"Well no, but it's probably because the blackout turned off the AC system."

"Was it this hot in the other rooms?"

"...No..."

Seto stared at the thermostat and rested his chin on his thumb. "What does this mean?" Seto asked, pointing at the screen.

"The thermostat just controls the temperature..."

Seto rolled his eyes. "I know that, but why does it say _'11:59 PM- MAX SETTING'_?"

Tyler glanced at the screen in bewilderment. "Woah, didn't notice that. That's pretty strange..." He examined the buttons on the side and noticed that one was labeled _'SCHED'_. "Hey look, this thermostat actually lets you schedule the temperature at certain times!"

"So... the air conditioner was scheduled to turn on with the maximum setting at 11:59 pm?"

"Looks like it."

"Do you think MonoWither did this?"

"D-Don't ask me! You're the smart one!"

"Hmm... Do you think the other rooms also have thermostats?"

"Probably..." Tyler glanced at him. "You wanna go check?"

"That would be a good idea," Seto replied.

Tyler laughed a little awkwardly. "Heh, I feel like I'm your detective partner or something..."

Seto didn't respond to that comment, but he did feel glad to have a partner of sorts during this investigation.

* * *

"So all three thermostats in the dance room, music room, and this room have the same schedule..." Seto murmured, staring at the brewing room's thermostat. "This can't just be a coincidence..."

"What can't just be a coincidence?" someone asked from behind them.

Tyler screamed and whirled around to see Bonks standing there. "Bonks?! Wh-When did you get in here?!"

Seto rolled his eyes. "She was already in here when we walked in. Didn't you notice?"

"N-No..."

"...Anyway... what's wrong with the thermostat?" Bonks asked curiously.

"Someone scheduled all of the ones on this floor to turn on at 11:59 pm, specifically with the highest setting," Seto replied. "This has got to have some sort of meaning behind it..."

"That does sound pretty strange..." Bonks noted. "Well, speaking of strange, can you guys help me figure this out?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course," Seto replied. "What did you find?"

"Well, I found this list..." Bonks said, pulling out a piece of paper with words printed on it. "It's a description of the brewing room's inventory- how many pounds of redstone dust are supplied, how many melons are in the fridge, et cetera... But there's one thing that doesn't match up."

"Really?" Tyler asked.

"It says here that there are five golden carrots in the fridge, but when I looked there were only three."

"...Only three, huh..." Seto murmured, closing his eyes thoughtfully.

"Yeah, and Husky cut the Glistering Melon into seven slices, but when I checked there were only five. Although maybe I counted wrong... M-Maybe the golden carrot thing is just a mistake on MonoWither's part or something, I mean, that's the only error on this list, as far as I can tell."

"No, if that's the only mistake, it's all the more suspicious," Seto said. "Just keep what you found in mind for now, though, this isn't the time to think of a reason for it."

Bonks nodded. "Okay then..."

"Well, if you've already finished the brewing room, Tyler and I should get going," Seto said, grabbing Tyler's arm.

"Oh- Already-? Er- B-Bye Bonks!" Tyler stammered in surprise before Seto tugged him out the door. "Seto, what was that for? And why would there be two missing golden carrots if we only used one for the Potion of Invisibility."

"Just hurry. There's one more place we need to check..." Seto muttered to himself as he walked over to the monster hallway, stopping in front of one room in particular.

Tyler shivered. "S-Spiders again?"

"You don't have to go in if you don't want to," Seto said as he pulled the lever and opened the door. He quickly formed a shield that reached from the floor to the ceiling before walking in.

"No no no- I can do it-!" Tyler stuttered before rushing in behind him.

Two spiders crawled about, hissing at them.

Tyler failed to suppress his shudders of fear. "S-Seto? Notice anything?"

"...This confirms it..." Seto murmured to himself.

"Huh?"

Before he could reply, Seto heard an absolutely _blood-curdling_ scream of terror. Frozen to the spot, he was too shocked to react as the scream kept going for about ten seconds before slowly dying out. Seto felt a chill run down his spine when he realized _Steven_ was the one who had screamed so desperately.

"Wh-Why did Steven scream like that?" Tyler asked, horrified. "What happened to him-"

Seto and Tyler looked at each other, terror and dread quickly sinking in their stomachs. "Let's go," Seto whispered urgently before they ran out of the spider room, closing it behind them.

They heard Bonks slam open the brewing room door. "Steven?!" she asked frantically. "What happened, are you- AAAH-!" Bonks let out a startled shriek of horror.

Seto and Tyler rushed out of the hallway before promptly stopping in their tracks.

Turned away from the elevator, Bart was cradling an all-too-familiar body in his arms and staring down at the limp figure with a mixture of shock and sadness.

"Oh- Oh god no- Steven-" Tyler stammered. He and Seto ran towards Bart when Dave suddenly stepped in their way and shook his head slightly.

Confused, Seto stared at Steven's seemingly lifeless body before realizing that he was actually breathing rather steadily. Perhaps he had just fainted... But for what reason?

Dave slowly pointed to the elevator. With bewilderment, Tyler and Seto turned to the direction of Dave's gesture.

That was when Seto felt a sickening jolt course through his body. The suddenness, the unexpectedness of it all...

_No... How could this be...?_

Tyler gasped and covered his mouth with his hand, unintentionally mirroring Bonks, who had been staring at the elevator this whole time.

Seto couldn't look away, once again. This was just too much to take in... Too, too much...

His back was turned towards them, but his identity was clear. Dangling from the wire mesh inside the elevator shaft, a roped noose wrapped all too tightly around his pale, bruised neck, it seemed that Ryan had finally laid himself down to rest.

The sight was almost like something straight out of a horror film; at least, that's what Seto assumed. But everything was just too real. The paleness of Ryan's skin, the way his body turned slightly as he hung in the air like a limp puppet on a string...

"R-Ryan..." Bonks whispered, her voice shaking like leaves. "H-He... He..."

The elevator doors slid shut automatically, hiding Ryan's body from view.

Tyler looked deathly pale, as though he was ready to join Steven and faint right there on the spot. "Why?" he asked softly, too shocked to comprehend everything that was going on. "I... I don't understand... What's happening...? Why is Ryan... Why is he...?"

Seto almost vomited when the implications rushed to his head. He shuddered and gasped as he fought down the overwhelming urge. Was this... an act of suicide? Was this what Ryan had finally done after losing Mitch and Jerome so horrifically? Had he been unable to live with himself? Was that what had happened?

Even worse, if Ryan had truly attacked Bodil and killed Husky as was implied, was this what he did afterward?

Or... was this somehow a murder...?

All of these possibilities were too terrible to dwell upon. Seto's stomach twisted with sickening nausea at the mere thought, tears gathering in his eyes. Ryan... Husky... Not just one, but _two_ deaths had occurred in just one night... Just like that, two of their friends were gone, leaving only nine left...

 _"Investigation time is over!"_ MonoWither announced over the speakers. "Now then, please head over to the basement entrance near the trash room!"

"Wait- Wait a moment- Investigation time is over?" Seto asked. "But- But we just found Ryan-"

"No buts, Seto!" MonoWither chided, appearing before them. "It's you guys' fault for not finding him earlier! And you never would have, had we not told Steven to open the elevator doors! We've already wasted too much time, head over to the basement right now!"

Wasted too much time? It seemed that there wasn't enough time for anything. Not enough time to think... Not enough time to comprehend the situation...

Not enough time to grieve...

Bart stood up, still carrying Steven bridal style in his arms. He and Dave walked away from the elevator to the steps. Bonks blinked away tears and sniffled a bit before following them.

"Let's go..." Tyler whispered as he started to turn away. He stopped when he realized Seto wasn't following him and looked back. "Seto?"

Seto slowly walked towards the elevators and pressed the button to open it, revealing Ryan's body once more. He caught one glance of Ryan's pale face before he quickly averted his gaze. Forcing all his thoughts away for the moment, Seto reached into Ryan's left pocket and felt a hard, rectangular object. He pulled it out and saw that it was Bonks' framed drawing of Mitch and Jerome.

Tear marks stained the glass.

Next, Seto reached into Ryan's right pocket and pulled out Mitch's amulet and a folded piece of paper. He hesitated for a moment before opening the note.

"Seto? What does that note say?" Tyler asked, walking back to him.

Seto stared at the paper, scanning its contents, before folding it again. "...Nothing."

"Are... you sure...?"

Seto didn't reply as he brushed past Tyler and walked down the steps.

Behind him, he faintly heard the sound of the elevator doors sliding shut for the last time.


	31. Bat in a Cave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: So on Wattpad there's this contest called the Wattys 2016 and this year they're accepting ongoing stories so I submitting Withering Hope... If any of you have wattpad accounts and like this story, I would really appreciate it if you voted for it, as it would help boost the data results. I'm not forcing you to if you don't want to, I would like to be honest about this :'D)
> 
> (anyway enough of my rambling here's the next chapter you've all been waiting for)

Somehow, Seto had known it this whole time. He had known it ever since that fateful day at the training center (how could he not, considering how he had once felt himself), and he would be lying if what he had known for all these years hadn't helped him figure out the truth behind Jerome's murder...

The paper hung heavy in Seto's pocket somehow as he made his way down the steps.

_"Ryan has been despairingly, hopelessly in love with Mitch ever since they met."_

* * *

When Seto and Tyler reached the basement entrance, they saw everyone standing in front, murmuring to themselves with hushed voices. They glanced at the two for a few moments before turning back. Seto could barely catch the words "Ryan" and "dead", along with the occasional "hung himself". Bonks must have told them what happened...

Seto saw Bart and Dave standing by Steven, who had regained consciousness but was now sitting on the floor, staring down at his lap. Seto headed over to them.

"Steven?" he asked softly.

Steven looked up at Seto, his face still pale and his dark eyes wide with fright. "Y... Yeah?"

"Are you... all right?" Seto felt like he was asking a painfully obvious and stupid question, but he didn't know what else to say.

Steven swallowed and nodded. "Yeah I'm... fine. Don't worry about me," he said faintly. "I just... didn't see it coming at all..."

_"Is everybody here?"_ MonoWither asked, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "We're just itching to begin this trial!"

"Shouldn't we have more time to investigate?" Jordan asked. "After all, we just found out about a minute ago that Ryan died..."

"Nope! We're still going on with the trial! As we told Seto before, it's your fault for not finding him earlier! Now you must deal with the consequences!"

"Are- Are you serious?!" Annie exclaimed. "What- What if we missed something-"

"That's your fault!" MonoWither repeated gleefully. "But, as your supportive hosts, we have faith that you'll find the answer! But even if you don't, the show will still go on!"

"How's Bodil?" Ashley asked abruptly.

"Oh, him? The one and only Boat Dill Four Tree?" MonoWither said, tilting their heads with curiosity before bowing them sadly. "Ah, it's such a tragedy... Three deaths in just one day... We tried our very best, but... he lost too much blood already..."

Seto felt his heart jolt. Bodil was dead too?

Ashley's eyes widened with horror. "Wh- What- What are you-"

MonoWither laughed uproariously. "Nah, we're just kidding. He's totally fine, Ash!"

Ashley glared at the machine. "Shut up! Don't call me that!"

"What, but Bodil calls you that all the time, why can't we? Seems to us like you're-"

"SHUT UP!" Ashley shrieked. Annie grabbed her shoulder, worried that she'd lash out and attack MonoWither.

MonoWither giggled. "Anyway, let's proceed onwards!" the machine said as the elevator doors swung open.

Everyone stepped inside the elevator, which shook slightly as the doors closed. As the elevator descended downwards, Seto became painfully aware of the fact that the elevator was becoming more and more empty with each trial... Besides Bart and Dave, there were only eight people. When everything was done, who would be the one who wouldn't return with them?

What if only the killer remained?

Seto was jolted out of his thoughts when the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. This time, the trial room was checkered with bright red and white blocks. "All right everyone, you know the drill!" MonoWither announced. "Find your designated trial stand and don't waste any more time!"

Seto hesitantly walked over to his stand, realizing how Husky was no longer beside him. Instead, only a picture frame with Husky's black-and-white face was there, and it was crossed out with a red flaming "X". Seto looked across the circle and saw Mitch's frame, which had red swords forming the "X", and Ryan's, which had a red bat symbol.

He tried to find comfort in the fact that Bodil's stand was empty and had no picture there.

"Have we all settled down yet?" MonoWither asked. "If that's the case, then let us begin! We are here to discuss the murders of Husky, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level TNT Tester; and Ryan, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Warden. It's time for our Super Duper Minecrafter participants to solve this mystery and find the culprit/culprits of these heinous crimes! If they choose correctly, the blackened alone will be punished. But if they choose incorrectly, then they will all be punished, the blackened will be free to leave, and the show will end!"

MonoWither swung the wooden gavel down on the podium and the trial commenced.

There was silence before Jason spoke. "Well? Isn't it already decided?" he asked, his voice dripping with bitterness.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Steven asked, bewildered. "You already know who the killer is?"

Seto remembered that Steven was the only one who hadn't been there to hear Husky's final words.

"Before he died, Husky said that Ryan... was the one who did this..." Tyler mumbled hesitantly.

"But- But how can that be possible?! He hung himself!" Steven shouted before his eyes widened in realization. His voice sunk down to a mere whisper. "D-Don't tell me- Did he kill himself after... attacking them?"

"That's what it seems like..." Annie said softly, although it seemed that she too didn't seem particularly willing to believe it either.

"But what kind of motive would Ryan even have?" Jordan asked. "It obviously wasn't the motive MonoWither gave us if Ryan decided to kill himself right afterward. If he really did commit suicide, wouldn't he have left a note?"

"He did," Seto replied.

Everyone turned to face Seto. "He did? What did it say?" Ashley asked.

Seto pulled out the note from his cloak and unfolded it. "This was in Ryan's pocket, along with the missing picture of Mitch and Jerome. But all it says is _'I'm sorry I killed Husky and_ _Bodil_ _'_..."

There was silence as everyone processed Seto's words. "I'm... sorry I killed Husky and Bodil...?" Tyler echoed.

"Wait, what's with the text on the back?" Annie asked.

Seto paused. "He wrote the note on the back of his secret..."

Annie's eyes widened. "Oh..." she said, not pressing further.

"The nerve..." Jason hissed. "He's just apologizing for what he did... Like we could ever forgive him..."

"But that still doesn't answer why he did it!" Bonks pointed out.

"Why does it matter?!" Jason countered. "Husky already said Ryan was the culprit and the note clearly shows that Ryan did it! So all we have to do is vote for Ryan and we can all leave!"

Everyone paused, realizing what Jason meant. If Ryan was the killer, and he was already dead, then there wouldn't be anyone to execute...

That would be a nice change for once... They could vote and that would be it, no more deaths, no more despair...

...

...right?

"So Ryan must have done it, there's no other person who could have after all," Ashley muttered. "No one else was up there at that time, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," Annie replied. "I guess Ryan just snapped... He probably went mad with grief or something like that... and snapped when Bodil and Husky found him... He did strike Tyler a few days ago, didn't he? I was afraid something like this would happen..."

"That has to be it," Bonks said, nodding. "Even though... it's sad... At least we don't have to go through a long trial."

"We don't need to accuse each other," Tyler said in relief.

"...Yeah..." Steven mumbled quietly, staring down at the floor.

"So do we vote now?" Jordan asked.

"Well, if that's what you guys want!" MonoWither declared. "Are you sure you want to end the trial so soon, though? We mean, if you guys go on for a bit longer we can stick a few more advertisements in the middle-"

"Of course we are!" Jason replied confidently.

Seto scanned everyone's faces before noticing Bart and Dave. Both of them were looking at each other before looking back at the participants. Their eyes gradually met his and a mutual understanding seemed to form amongst the three. They were the only others who were hesitant as well.

But did it matter? Couldn't he stand for this?

...

No. No, he couldn't stand for this. He couldn't just bury his head in the sand and avoid seeking the truth. He had to make sure. It wasn't just their lives at stake; Ryan's reputation was as well. Seto couldn't let them vote without removing any room for doubt!

"No, we can't vote now!" Seto shouted, startling everyone.

"What?!" Jason shrieked. "What do you mean we can't vote now?!"

"We can't, not when we haven't double-checked," Seto replied.

"There's no need to waste time doing that! Double-check? What's the point?! Only Ryan, Husky, and Bodil were up there and Ryan already confessed with his suicide note!"

"That may be true..." Seto admitted. "But... we're risking our lives if we vote so soon. We haven't even gone over how the murder happened, and Husky never explicitly said Ryan was the killer. There are so many unanswered questions still. Not just that, but Ryan was our friend. He can't even defend himself now or clarify exactly what he meant with his note."

"Clarify? It says exactly what he meant right there! He even gave their names!" Jason argued.

"But even still, Ryan deserves the benefit of the doubt until we've covered everything, doesn't he?"

Jason looked down at the ground, guilt flashing across his face temporarily.

"I know you want to avenge Husky. We all do," Seto said gently. "But, despite everything, we have to remain rational."

Jason paused, breathing heavily, before nodding slowly. "Okay," he whispered. "It won't hurt if we discuss a little longer..."

"So what do we do?" Tyler asked.

"Let's go over exactly how the murder occurred, using what we know," Seto replied. "Would anyone like to start?"

"Well for starters... why were Husky and Bodil even there in the first place?" Annie asked.

"They were looking for Ryan," Ashley replied suddenly.

Tyler's eyes widened. "What? How did you know that?"

"Bodil told me last night. He said that Husky was worried about Ryan's safety now that the motive was out..." Ashley looked away. "I tried to convince him not to go, but he wouldn't listen. He asked if I wanted to join the search, but I was worried it would be dangerous, so I said no..."

Something flashed in Jason's eyes, but he said nothing.

"I can confirm what Ashley said," Jordan said, nodding his head.

"You can?" Bonks asked, perplexed.

"I decided to search Husky's room in case there would be any clues and found his notebook," Jordan said as he pulled it out from his pocket. "Three pages were torn out, judging by the number of frays still remaining in the spiral. I used a pencil and lightly traced it over the front page and found what Husky wrote." He showed everyone the letter.

_Bodil_ _,_

_I know that after the motive, you might not trust me, but I have to ask you a favor._ _ _I have a feeling that Ryan may be wandering around at night__ _, and now that the motive was revealed, I'm afraid someone will try to target him. Will you_ _meet me in the central hall at 11:00 pm?_

"You can see Husky's signature," Jordan said. "So it proves that Husky's definitely the one who wrote this."

"But if there are three pages missing, then did Husky write a letter to two people other than Bodil?" Steven asked.

"Maybe he wrote one to Ashley?" Annie questioned.

Ashley shook her head. "No, Bodil told me himself. Husky never gave me one."

"Well, my memories are still really fuzzy, but... I think I got a letter," Jordan mumbled. "It would explain why I was going out to meet Husky. Except, I don't recall the meeting time being so late. I could have sworn it was earlier..." He frowned and rubbed his temples. "I need to jog my memory somehow..."

"That explains one letter, but what about the second piece of paper that's still unaccounted for?" Bonks asked.

"How do we even know Husky used the first paper to write a letter? Maybe he used it for something else..." Jason suggested.

"That's a possibility," Seto said in agreement. "But the possibility that someone else knew about the plan is still something we should keep in mind. Now that we know what Husky and Bodil were doing, let's go over what we know about the murder."

"So Husky and Bodil were searching for Ryan and started at 11:00 pm during Night Time," Bonks began.

"They ended up finding Ryan, and..." Tyler trailed off, confusion crossing his face. "...Husky died and Bodil got injured. And then Ryan hung himself? And Jordan got hit by a sleeping potion... somehow... for some reason..."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"You see what I mean?" Seto asked. "We don't even know exactly how the murder occurred. We can't possibly vote like this."

Murmurs of assent filled the room.

"I, for one, have reason to believe that Ryan is _not_ the killer, despite what the suicide note said," Seto said.

"Wh-What?! You do?!" Annie stammered.

"Yes, but... I won't say why now. Not until we figure out how everything happened, at least."

"But how can we do that?" Tyler asked.

"Perhaps the MonoWither File will help," Seto said, pulling out the tablet. "It says that Husky was found in the elevator shaft and that his time of death was at around 1:13 am. His death was caused by a slice to his throat but he also suffered a laceration to the side."

"Did we get a MonoWither File for Ryan?" Annie asked.

Seto shook his head. "No, MonoWither wouldn't give one since the investigation was over."

"Upupupu! Quite unfortunate it took you guys so long to find him!" MonoWither lamented tauntingly. "We did have a MonoWither File for him but, well, guess you lost your chance!"

"I believe it's clear that Ryan died by hanging himself," Ashley murmured. "The MonoWither File is probably unnecessary."

"I believe so too," Seto said. "It would have been difficult for another person to murder Ryan and position his body in such a fashion. It would have involved propping him up somehow."

"Going back to Husky's murder," Jordan said, "we should discuss the weapon used. It was probably a knife of some sort."

"Yes. Judging from the wounds, it appears to be a small knife," Seto replied, staring at Husky's silhouette on the tablet screen. "Something small enough to carry around in one's pocket. Not just that, but it had a blade tipped with poison."

"Y-You could tell all that just from the wounds?" Bonks squeaked, her eyes widening.

"...Yes. If you look at Husky's wounds, you can see that the sides of the lacerations are slightly tinged with green. It's a classic sign of poison."

"Does MonoWither even sell tipped blades?" Jason asked quietly.

"Well maybe if you actually shopped frequently like a good, loyal customer, you would know the answer!" MonoWither chided. "No, we don't! We do, however, sell Dragon's Breath for 80 WitherCoins!"

"How is that related?" Tyler inquired with bewilderment.

Seto opened his mouth to answer, but surprisingly Steven beat him to it. "Dragon's Breath is used to make Lingering Potions. It's very difficult to get since it requires going to the End and getting close enough to an Ender Dragon."

"Yes, and Lingering Potions are used to craft tipped weapons," Seto finished. "But with the amount of WitherCoins MonoWither has given us... it could be anyone who bought the Dragon's Breath. However, they must have gone through the effort of brewing poison themselves, since MonoWither doesn't sell poison in the shop."

"Aw, you actually pay attention to us! We're so flattered! Do you hang onto every single word we say with awestruck adulation?" MonoWither tilted their heads and fluttered their eyes, grinning.

"...Anyway, I find it strange that Ryan would put so much effort to create a tipped knife."

MonoWither pouted. "Hmph!"

"If Ryan went through so much trouble to try and murder Husky and Bodil, why would he hang himself afterward?"

"...Perhaps... he realized what he did and regretted it? He did say he was sorry..." Bonks suggested tentatively.

"Maybe..." Seto admitted. "But there's also something else that bothers me. Think about where the attacks occurred."

"Where they occurred? Jordan said that he was attacked at the central hall. Bodil, I'm not sure. But Husky..." Annie trailed off.

Everyone stopped, all realizing the same thing.

"Where Husky was stabbed... There would have had to have been a lot of blood for that, right? But I don't remember seeing blood anywhere..." Jordan murmured.

"Then where could it have happened?" Steven questioned.

"We'll think about that later," Seto said. "But as you can see, the killer managed to get rid of the evidence. If Ryan really did it and committed suicide afterward, why bother hiding all that?"

"That doesn't make sense," Ashley admitted.

"Finally, there's the order of the deaths we haven't considered," Seto remarked. "Who was attacked first? Second? Third?"

"...Shit..." Jason cursed softly, realization setting in.

"Well, couldn't Ryan have **died last** after killing Husky and attacking Bodil?" Steven asked. "Although I'm still not sure how Jordan being put to sleep plays into all this..."

**> >>** **-WOODEN-PIECES** -> **((DIED LAST))**

"We've been assuming that Ryan died last... Possibly because we already suspected him and also because we found him last..." Seto murmured. "But there's proof that he actually died _first_."

"Wh-What?!" Annie exclaimed, her green eyes widening in shock. "Ryan died first?!"

"We all saw the broken pieces of wood at the bottom of the elevator shaft, right?"

"I didn't..." Steven admitted.

"What are those pieces anyway? Did they have something to do with the murder?" Bonks asked.

"I thought the wooden object was something used to attack Bodil..." Tyler murmured. "Isn't that why his bones were all broken?"

Seto shook his head. "No, I don't think Bodil was attacked. At least, he wasn't assaulted with the wooden object."

"Then how did Bodil get injured like that?" Jordan asked.

_Judging by the injuries, Bodil must have..._

_1\. Been beaten by Ryan_   
**_> 2\. Fallen down the elevator shaft_ **   
_3\. Tripped down the stairs_

"He fell down the elevator shaft," Seto replied. "It was probably all the way down from the third floor since the second floor wouldn't have caused injuries to that extent."

"Wh-What the- How could Bodil survive a fall that high?" Jason asked, horrified.

"His shoulder was dislocated, which must have been from him attempting to grab the wires in the shaft. This slowed down his fall considerably. It was also mostly his lower body that was injured in the fall. Judging by his broken legs, he must have landed on his feet before falling over. Since his legs absorbed most of the impact rather than his head, all of this explains how he managed to survive, albeit barely," Seto replied.

Ashley's jaw clenched. "I had a feeling that was what happened..."

"That... That's so horrible though..." Steven whispered.

Seto nodded, grimacing. "Yes, but fortunately he'll recover. Now, I know you're wondering why those pieces are there if they weren't used to attack Bodil."

_If you put the pieces together, you could get..._

**_> 1_ ** **_. A stool_ **   
_2\. A ladder_   
_3\. A fence_

"Look at the largest pieces. They look like if put together, they would form a circle," Seto said. "The longer pieces could match to make four legs."

Ashley placed her hand under her chin. "Then that would make..."

"...a stool," Seto finished. "More precisely, the stool Ryan must have used when hanging himself."

Recognition flashed across Annie's face. "You're right! I spent this whole time thinking it was some sort of weapon, I never imagined... it was..." Sadness filled her eyes. "...used for that purpose..."

"Well okay, but what does that prove?! Couldn't Ryan have still **hung himself after** killing Husky?!" Jason asked.

**_> >>-BODIL'S-POSITION->_ ** **_((HUNG HIMSELF AFTER))_ **

"Let's think back to what happened when we found the stool's remains. Where _exactly_ did we find them?" Seto asked.

Bonks fumbled for words. "We, um, found them..."

Tyler's eyes lit up. "Oh! Under Bodil's body!"

"Ah, now I see..." Jordan muttered. "If Ryan had hung himself afterward, the stool would have been on top of Bodil's body, not below it."

"Bodil's body must have smashed the stool when he fell on top of it," Seto said. "Therefore, Ryan died before anything else happened. He _isn't_ the killer. This is further proven by the fact that we all heard a body announcement right before the blackout. Given that we didn't hear one when Steven found Ryan's body, that initial announcement must have been for him."

"Then when exactly _did_ he hang himself?" Annie asked.

_He must have hung himself..._

_1\. Right before the murder_   
**_> 2\. The night before_ **   
_3\. During the murder_

"The day we spent searching for Ryan... it was already too late," Seto said quietly.

"What?!" Steven asked before realization dawned in his eyes. "N-No, don't tell me..."

"When we realized Ryan was missing... he was already dead..." Annie's voice was filled with horror.

"That's probably it..." Ashley murmured.

"He hung himself that night and none of us knew because we didn't open the elevators," Jordan said quietly. "They were glued shut on the first floor, after all..."

"So- So Husky's plan- it was all totally pointless?!" Jason asked, all the color draining from his face. "He died... for nothing?"

"That's so sad..." Bonks whispered with a trembling voice.

Jason pounded his fists on the podium stand. "No- No, that isn't fair! It isn't fair!" he howled in anguish.

Husky and Bodil had been unknowingly searching for a dead man the whole time and ended up being attacked as a result, a thought so incredibly despairing to Seto. But he had to reassure Jason somehow...

"No, it isn't fair, Jason. But you have to remember what Husky died trying to do."

"...Find someone who was already dead?" Jason asked in a hollow voice.

Seto shook his head. "No... He was trying to keep everyone safe."

Jason's blue eyes glistened with tears before he shut them tightly.

"Ugh, can we move on?!" MonoWither suddenly asked with annoyance. "All you guys have figured out is that Ryan already went and killed himself and you were all too stupid to notice!"

"...You knew this whole time!" Tyler said, anger filling his voice.

"Oh, of course we knew!" MonoWither said, rolling their eyes. "We were there, after all!"

"You were there?" Annie asked, horrified.

"Obviously! We were the ones who sold him the noose in the first place! We even threw in the stool for free! In fact, all of this was after we had... a little chat..." MonoWither's red eyes gleamed maliciously.

Seto's pupils dilated. "You... _killed_ him..." he whispered.

"What?" MonoWither asked, confused.

"You KILLED him!" Seto shouted with fury. "You- You encouraged him to do it, you _monsters_!"

Bonks gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, shocked.

"Oh come on, we aren't the killers! Ryan's the one who hung himself in the first place! He killed himself! He was his own murderer!" MonoWither snapped.

"Shut up! You're the one who convinced him to do it!" Seto screamed. For some reason, Seto couldn't stop thinking about how broken Ryan had already been, how easy it probably had been for MonoWither to use their twisted words to drive the poor, heartbroken man over the edge and plunge him into ultimate despair...

Everyone turned to glare at MonoWither. In that instant, they weren't suspecting each other, but instead were all united together against the true killers...

"Somehow... I should have known you had something to do with it..." Ashley murmured, balling her hands into fists.

"How could you?!" Steven cried out, tears streaming down his face.

"Ryan didn't deserve that!" Tyler shrieked.

"You are _heartless_!" Annie shouted. "Someday you'll pay for what you've done, _everything_!"

MonoWither scoffed. "Really now? You really think you can defy us?! We're the ones in control here!"

"...As you sow, so shall you reap."

Everyone turned to look at Jordan, whose expression was unreadable behind his red sunglasses.

"E-Excuse me?!" MonoWither thundered.

Jordan pushed his glasses up before glancing back. "...You heard me."

"Ugh, whatever! We're wasting time! Get back to the trial! There's still one dead person whose murderer you haven't accounted for!"

Jason flinched and all the anger and determination died from his eyes. The unity faded away as suspicion and distrust returned.

"Well if it isn't Ryan... then who did it?" Tyler asked.

"And why did Ryan say in his suicide note that he killed Husky and Bodil if that wasn't the case?" Ashley asked.

"The killer must have already known Ryan was dead and planted the note there," Seto concluded. "It was a clever attempt to turn us away from the real killer, unintentionally helped by the fact that Husky mentioned Ryan with his dying breaths."

"So does that mean Husky and Bodil found Ryan's body? Is that what Husky was really trying to tell us?" Jason asked.

Seto nodded. "That's probably what he actually meant."

"There's one thing I still don't understand," Bonks said. "We still don't know where Husky was attacked."

"Oh yeah, I think we touched upon this earlier but didn't discuss it further," Annie recalled.

"Well there weren't any places with bloodstains," Ashley said. "And I can't think of a way this could be disguised. Injuries like that... would definitely spill a lot of blood."

"Maybe in one of the bedrooms somehow?" Tyler asked. "But no, that wouldn't make sense at all..."

Dave grabbed Steven's shoulder and shook it. "Dave? What is it?" Steven asked, confused.

The zombie started tapping on Steven's hand in a strange rhythm.

"Dave, slow down. I can't understand you when you tap that fast."

Steven was silent as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What? That's strange... Are you sure?"

Bart leaned over and started tapping on his other arm. Steven seemed to grow even more perplexed.

"What are they saying?" Jason asked.

"Dave said that... when he was in front of the elevators, the floor was kind of sticky for some reason..." Steven replied. "And Bart said that he felt it too..."

"Sticky?" Tyler echoed in bewilderment. "I didn't notice..."

"Well, they do walk barefoot," Annie pointed out.

Seto felt chills run up and down his spine. The floor had been sticky? No... Could this mean...?

"The killer used a slime," Seto whispered, his eyes widening with realization.

"What did you say?" Bonks asked.

"The killer used a slime to soak up the blood," Seto repeated, this time louder. "Husky must have died in front of the elevators... and the killer used a slime to hide it..."

There was a pause as everyone made the same mental connection before turning to stare at Jordan. Jordan, realizing the same thing, held onto Jerry protectively. Jason balled his hands into fists. "You..." he growled menacingly, glaring daggers at Jordan.

"Whatever you're thinking, it's simply not true," Jordan said, backing away from the circle as he held Jerry even tighter. "It's just a coincidence. It wasn't me-"

"You must have been the one who hid the blood! You faked being attacked, didn't you?!" Jason shrieked, jabbing an accusatory finger at the man. "You wanted us to think you were innocent when you were lying this whole time!"

"No, I didn't! I was framed, obviously!" Jordan shouted back. Jerry started to shrink inwards, terrified by the loud yelling and by Jordan's palpable apprehension.

"You really expect us to believe that?! You were the only other person up there during the time of the murder! It has to be you!" Jason countered.

"The killer is trying to trick us, they set me up, you can't fall for it-"

"Do you have any proof? _DO YOU?! WHERE'S YOUR PROOF?!_ "

Jordan grit his teeth and glared back, unable to form a response.

The tension hung heavy in the court room like a toxic fog until MonoWither's ecstatic cackle shattered the silence. _"Upupupu... What an interesting turn of events, indeed..."_


	32. Lies and Deceit

Shocked and suspicious murmurs broke out across the trial room.

"You! You must have used Jerry to hide the bloodstains! You must have given yourself the sleeping potion as an alibi! You must have killed Husky!" Jason shouted.

"I did _not_ ," Jordan said in a rather deadly voice. "It wasn't me who killed Husky, and I can prove it."

"All right, prove it then!" Jason yelled. "What's this 'proof' you've got?!"

"You guys found me in an instrument case, right? I must have been trapped in there by the killer since I couldn't have closed it from the inside," Jordan argued.

"Yes, you could have!" Jason snapped. "It was a zippered case. You could have still closed it from the inside by pushing the slider!"

"That's not very easy to accomplish..." Bonks mumbled.

"It... It's still doable, though..." Steven said hesitantly. "But... Why would Jordan put himself to sleep?"

"Exactly," Jordan stated. "It wouldn't make sense for me to do that if I was the killer. How would I have been able to do that in the first place? I got hit in the _back_ of my head!"

"You could have drunk the potion yourself and smashed the glass when you were inside the case," Annie replied, glaring at Jordan suspiciously.

Jordan gritted his teeth.

"Sleeping potions often remove a person's memory, don't they?" Tyler asked. "Seems pretty risky to do that, doesn't it?"

"Thank you," Jordan grumbled.

"Perhaps that was all part of the plan," Ashley murmured thoughtfully.

"What?!" Bonks asked, horrified. "You mean he removed his memories on purpose?!"

"...It would prevent himself from verbally slipping up, wouldn't it?" Ashley asked. "He wouldn't be able to make a mistake, simply because he would have no memory of the crime."

Jordan's eyes widened, a terrible idea seeping its way into his mind. "I..."

"So you're suggesting that Jordan did it but doesn't remember at all?!" Steven exclaimed.

Jordan's resolve wavered for a moment before he clenched his fists. "I wouldn't do something like this in the first place! I would never consider murdering anyone!"

"Well so far you haven't produced any actual proof, have you?!" Jason snapped. "Let's face it, you were the only one up there during the time of the murder. Everyone else was down on the first floor. Three people had to have been on the third floor to trigger Ryan's body announcement. A slime was used to hide the place where Husky was attacked. It has to be you, there's no one else!"

"Well just because Jerry's a slime doesn't mean I used them. The killer could have very well used a slime that was in one of the monster cells. It doesn't have to be me," Jordan argued.

"That still isn't proof at all," Annie murmured. "Steven, is there any way to figure out if Jerry was the one who was used to soak up the blood?"

"...Not to my knowledge, no..." Steven said hesitantly.

"Excuse me for a second," Seto said suddenly, raising his head. "Jordan, could you repeat everything that you remember happening before you were hit by the sleeping potion?"

Jordan thought for a moment. "I received a letter from Husky, asking me to meet him in the central hall at 11:00 pm to help him look for Ryan. But... the more I think about it, the more I think I got a second one that told me that the meeting time was changed to 10:30 pm for some reason..."

"Likely story," Jason muttered sarcastically. "Why the hell would you fall for something like that?"

"Well, I _was_ very skeptical about the second note, but its writing matched up with the first note's, so that's why I listened to it."

Seto closed his eyes thoughtfully. "Mmhm... Go on..."

"I went over to the central hall at 10:30 like the second note said. Jerry insisted on following me. But when I got there, I got attacked and I blacked out. That's all I can remember."

"I'm a little confused," Ashley said. "So you're saying that Husky wrote you a second letter?"

"Yes... It would explain why there were three pages missing, right? But at the same time, I doubt it was actually Husky who did it. If he did, he must have only given the message to me and not Bodil, which would mean that Husky was my attacker for some reason. Still, I may not have the notes anymore, but the handwriting definitely looked similar. It's all very confusing..."

"Yeah, since that's obviously not what happened," Jason muttered. "Seto, don't tell me you really believe this!"

"Let me think, Jason," Seto muttered in reply.

"It's crystal-clear to all of us that he's lying, isn't it?!" Jason demanded.

"Jordan was the only one up there. It has to be him," Annie declared. 

"There's no other possibility that I can think of," Ashley said, nodding in agreement. 

Steven stared down at the floor miserably. "I mean, Jordan was the only one who was up there, but... I don't want to believe it..."

"S-Same..." Bonks whispered.

"Seto? What do you think?" Tyler asked quietly.

Seto paused for a moment before walking over to where Jordan was standing. "Jordan, I'd like to test something out, if you don't mind."

"...Sure, go ahead," Jordan replied, eyeing Seto dubiously.

Seto promptly reached over and snatched Jerry from Jordan's arms.

Jordan yelped in indignation. "H-Hey, what are you doing-?"

Jerry shook violently as they leapt from Seto's hands, hit the floor with a loud smacking sound, and hopped desperately towards Jordan. Seto bent over and grabbed Jerry again, but Jerry seemed hell-bent on escaping Seto's attempts to separate them from Jordan. After a few more tries, Seto finally gave up and allowed Jerry to return to Jordan.

"What was that for?!" Jordan demanded, picking Jerry up and cradling the terrified slime comfortingly.

"...There are two possibilities right now," Seto murmured, walking back to his stand. "One is that Jordan is telling the truth and was attacked by someone so that he could be framed. The other one is that Jordan is the killer."

"Yeah, and?" Jason muttered.

"We all agree that a slime was used to hide the blood at the murder scene, correct? Well, assuming that Jordan was truly framed, there must have been a reason why the killer chose him."

"Is Jerry the reason?" Bonks asked.

"Perhaps it was originally, but as we just saw, there's no way that Jerry would have let themselves been separated from Jordan so easily."

"So it _is_ Jordan!" Annie shouted.

"I'm telling you, that can't be it!" Jordan yelled back. "I am innocent!"

Seto sighed and raised his hand. "Let me finish, please..."

Everyone went silent.

"Despite most of the evidence pointing to Jordan, there are a few things that confuse me. The first one is the ketchup that we found on his body. If Jordan really put himself to sleep, why in the world would he use ketchup?"

MonoWither suddenly burst into peals of laughter. "The ketchup?! You're actually going to use the _ketchup_ as evidence?!"

Seto glared at them. "Your point?"

"Oh- Oh this is hilarious! You're actually taking this so _seriously_! It was just a prank, bro!"

"A prank?!" Tyler stammered. "What do you mean it was a prank?!"

"We'll show you!" MonoWither flew up to Tyler, opened their fanged mouths, and promptly squirted bright-red ketchup all over Tyler's face.

Tyler shrieked and staggered backwards, shielding himself with his arms. "Ew! EW!!! Get it off of me! Gross!"

Bart offered him a handkerchief sympathetically, although the Enderman might have also been repulsed by the stench. Grateful, Tyler used it to wipe his face.

MonoWither cackled as they flew back to their throne. "Don't be confused about the ketchup anymore! We saw Jordan lying there and just thought it would be hilarious to see your horrified reactions! And it was, it all paid off!"

"But how did you get ketchup on Jordan if he was in the case?" Bonks asked.

"What, you think we can't open a case ourselves? Just because we don't have arms and hands like you humans do?"

Silence. 

"Anyway, this is all completely irrelevant! Talk about something else, would ya! Geez, you guys are getting nowhere! You're taking forever!"

"...Jordan, did you at any point see Ryan's body?" Seto asked.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't," Jordan replied. "All I remember is getting to the central hall and then the sleeping potion hitting my head."

"How many times do I have to say this?" Jason hissed. "There were at least three people who saw Ryan's body, correct? His body was discovered by Bodil and Husky right before the blackout started. But the rest of us were all on the first floor! All of us, besides Jordan! Why are you still questioning him?!"

"I am well aware of that, but there's something that doesn't add up," Seto replied.

"Explain what this 'something' is," Ashley murmured.

"If Jordan is the killer, then he would have put himself to sleep by drinking the potion and breaking it inside the case, is that correct?" Seto asked.

"Yes, that has to be what happened," Annie replied.

"Except it isn't. It doesn't explain the nature of his wounds."

"Um... Maybe he was wounded because the glass cut him as he was laying down on it?" Bonks asked.

Seto shook his head. "It's clear from the cuts that the potion bottle had to have been _thrown_ at the back of Jordan's head."

Jordan winced and fingered the bandages still wrapped around his head. "Yeah..."

"Well maybe he laid the potion bottle on the ground and smashed his head on it?" Ashley suggested.

"No, that still doesn't match up with the wounds."

"But- But that doesn't make sense!" Annie shouted. "He's the only one who could have done it! He was the only one up there!"

"Unless it really was someone else..." Jason whispered.

"What?!" Tyler exclaimed. "You're changing your mind just like that?!"

"You know, after thinking for awhile, I think it was _Bodil_ who killed Husky," Jason said, gritting his teeth together.

Ashley immediately turned to glare at him. "Bodil? Are you serious? In case you've forgotten, his bones are broken and he almost died. Don't tell me you think he did all that to himself and leapt from the third floor just to have an alibi."

"Maybe it was an accident that he fell..." Steven whispered.

"What?! Steven?!" Bonks asked, horrified.

"I mean... If it's not Ryan... and it's not Jordan... then it has to be Bodil, right?" Steven asked tentatively.

"Bodil did _not_ do this, are you out of your mind?!" Ashley thundered, raising her fists.

Steven squeaked and instinctively threw his arms in front of his face. "Eep! I'm- I'm sorry!"

"No, Steven has a point," Jordan said. "The killer must have been him. After all, everyone else was downstairs on the first floor during the time of the attack. I was unconscious due to the sleeping potion, which I certainly did not throw at myself. And now that we know Ryan and I aren't the killers, that means Bodil is the only one who could have killed Husky."

Ashley went silent as her face paled.

"Maybe when Bodil attacked Husky, they both ended up falling down the shaft..." Steven whispered softly. "It would explain... why Bodil wasn't stabbed at all... r-right?"

"Except Bodil and Husky weren't in the same shaft!" Tyler argued.

Steven's eyes widened. "They- They weren't-?"

"Upupupu!" MonoWither giggled. "Well maybe if you weren't such a wimp and looked at both of the bodies like everyone else did, you wouldn't have made such a stupid mistake!"

Steven flinched. "Even still... I can't think of anyone else who would have been on that floor... M-Maybe when Bodil planted the note in Ryan's pocket... he fell..."

Ashley stared down at the ground. "I did say... that anyone could be the killer..." she murmured.

"But- But why would Bodil do that?!" Bonks asked, horrified. "Bodil- He would have _no_ reason-"

" _Anyone can be the killer_ ," Ashley repeated. "Isn't that a lesson we've already learned twice before?"

Ashley's question hung in the air like poisonous smoke.

Tyler's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "So it was really him? Bodil... was really capable of such a thing? Out of all people... I never expected him... to be like that..."

"...No."

Everyone turned to stare at Seto, who had once again spoken up.

"The killer may not be Bodil, although right now I'm not sure exactly why. There's a contradiction we haven't realized, and it has to do with Ryan's body discovery announcement, which we heard before the blackout."

"What are you trying to say?" Jason asked, confused.

"MonoWither said it last time: a body discovery announcement only rings when at least three people find the body. Now who could these three people be?"

"Well, there's Husky, for starters..." Annie said.

"And the killer, since they planted the fake suicide note," Tyler murmured.

"If we assume that Bodil _is_ the killer, then who's the third person?" Seto asked.

There was silence as everyone processed his question.

"Jordan, obviously?" Annie questioned.

"But I didn't even go to the third floor!" Jordan argued. "I was attacked in the central hall on the first floor. I couldn't have seen his body and I have no memory of that at all!"

"Well... if Bodil _isn't_ the killer, and Jordan was unconscious, then who else was up there at the time?" Jason countered. 

Seto frowned. "That's why I'm not exactly sure... But in any case, because of this contradiction we can't decide Bodil is the killer so quickly. There is also one more clue that could be used in Bodil's defense, and that would be the fact that the place where Husky was attacked was hidden. If Bodil fell down the shaft at some point after killing Husky,  who used the slime to hide the evidence?"

No one had an answer to that.

"I think that we should go over how the murder could have occurred with the new information we have. Perhaps it would help us understand the situation more clearly."

"There's nothing better to do, I suppose..." Jason muttered.

"So we know that Husky and Bodil were searching for Ryan last night," Ashley stated. "Assuming that Bodil and Jordan aren't the killer, that is."

"Before they found him, however, the killer had already discovered the body first," Tyler continued. "They planted a fake suicide note to trick us."

"Jordan was lured to the central hall at an earlier time and knocked out in order to be framed for the murder," Bonks said.

"When Husky and Bodil reached the third floor, they saw Ryan's body and caused the body discovery announcement," Annie said.

"Soon after the announcement, there was a blackout," Steven said.

"Why don't we start with that?" Seto asked. " What caused the blackout?"

"Well it can't have just been a coincidence," Bonks replied. "It had to have been related to the murder somehow..."

"Maybe the murderer intentionally started the blackout," Jordan reasoned.

"That would make sense, since Husky was attacked during the blackout," Ashley said. She blinked. "Right?"

Seto nodded. "He was probably attacked during that time, yes."

"How do you know for sure?" Jason asked.

"He said that he couldn't see his attacker," Seto replied. "Also, it would make sense for the killer to strike in the darkness, when their targets were at their most vulnerable position."

"But how did the killer trigger the blackout?" Annie questioned.

"Maybe... the killer broke into the building's power room and turned off all the lights!" Tyler suggested.

"Pfft! Broke into the power room?!" MonoWither asked, snorting with laughter. "That- That is _too_ good, maybe you should be the Super Duper Minecrafter Level _Comedy_ Actor!!!"

Tyler pursed his lips together, visibly annoyed.

MonoWither cackled. "You can't enter the power room because that room's in a higher floor and off-limits! Only your lovely hosts have access to it, unlike the rest of you! So nope, that's not how the blackout occurred! Try again!"

"Maybe the building's circuit breaker overloaded somehow," Steven proposed. "I remember once in the animation studio we accidentally overloaded the breaker by using too much of the new equipment at once, so there was a blackout until we got it fixed..."

"Uh... Sorry for asking, but what's a circuit breaker?" Seto asked, confused.

"You don't know what that is?!" MonoWither exclaimed before whooping. "This is absolutely hilarious! He's the smartest one here and he doesn't even know what a circuit breaker is!"

"Who said I was the smartest one..." Seto muttered, trying to shake off the feeling of humiliation from his ignorance.

"Here, let us explain! This is the definition straight from the dictionary! Ahem!" A projector screen rolled down from the ceiling and flashed a screenshot of a dictionary entry. MonoWither, now donning three pairs of glasses, smacked the screen using a pointer stick. "Circuit breaker. Noun. A device for interrupting an electric circuit to prevent excessive current, as that caused by a short circuit, from damaging the apparatus in the circuit or from causing a fire."

"I mean I know what a circuit breaker is, but even that definition is confusing to me," Tyler remarked.

"Do you understand now, Seto?" MonoWither asked mockingly, tossing the pointer stick aside and letting the projector screen rise.

"...Yes," Seto replied curtly.

"Do you want us to explain what the term 'apparatus' means-?"

"I know what that means, thank you very much," Seto replied through clenched teeth before looking up. "So Steven, what you mean is that the circuit breaker could have been overloaded if too much power was used at once, correct?"

Steven nodded. "Yeah... That makes sense, right?"

"That _would_ make sense, but is there any proof?" Jordan asked.

"I'm not sure if there is... Maybe **there isn't**..." Bonks said, gazing down at the floor with pessimism.

**> >>-AIR-CONDITIONERS-> ((THERE ISN'T))**

"No, I think there is," Seto said.

"Woah, really?" Bonks asked, her eyes lighting up. "That- That's good! I'm glad I was wrong!"

"Tyler and I examined the dance room and the music room, and discovered something strange about the air conditioners. Specifically, they were both set to turn on at 11:59 pm. Furthermore, they were set at the highest level."

"So the killer must have used the air conditioners to use up a lot of the power!" Annie concluded.

Seto nodded in assent. "That's correct."

"But would the air conditioners really be enough to trip the breaker?" Ashley asked. "Seems like a pretty weak breaker if that's all it took..."

"You're right, that wouldn't have been enough to cause the power outage," Seto replied.

"What else could the killer have done, then?" Steven asked.

Seto thought carefully for a moment, trying to sift through the things he'd noticed during the investigation and find something relevant. What would contribute to increasing the power usage to the point where the breaker would overload?

"Upupupu! You're getting _warmer_!" MonoWither remarked, their wide grins revealing their sharp fangs.

They were getting warmer, huh? Yeah, right...

...Warmer...

...

...Warmer! That was it!

"The dance room!" Seto suddenly shouted, startling everyone from their thoughts.

"What the- What about the dance room?!" Jason asked in bewilderment.

"It was warmer than usual in there during the investigation, correct?" Seto asked for clarification.

"Aw crap, we gave you a hint on accident, didn't we? Stupid us! Next thing you know we'll be spoiling who the killer is!" MonoWither shouted angrily at themselves.

"Yeah, it was..." Annie recalled. "I didn't stay in there long because it was so stuffy."

"But what does that have to do with the breaker getting overloaded?" Ashley asked.

"When the equipment is used for too long, it starts heating up," Seto said. "Despite the air conditioners turning on briefly, and the long period of time between the blackout and the investigation, the dance room was still at a high temperature. So I think the killer turned on every piece of equipment there, such as the lights and the dance floor panels. MonoWither did advise against us turning on everything, after all."

"That makes sense," Jordan replied. "I believe that and the air conditioners would be enough to trip the breaker..."

"So let me get this straight," Bonks said. "The killer turned on everything in the dance room and set the air conditioners to turn on at 11:59 pm, right?"

"Right," Tyler replied.

"So why that specific time?"

Seto thought for a moment. "...Well, first of all the killer must have chosen to attack Husky and possibly Bodil in front of the elevators for a reason."

"Was it just more convenient, since it was closest to everything else the killer had prepared?" Annie asked.

"That could be a reason..." Ashley replied.

Seto placed his hands on the podium stand and cleared his throat. "Yes, I agree too. Husky and Bodil agreed to meet at 11:00 pm. That's when they started the search. If they went through each floor, one by one, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that they would finish the first two floors in an hour."

"But why would the killer estimate like that? It seems like a pretty risky guess. What if Husky and Bodil got there earlier or later than expected?" Steven inquired.

"If they got there earlier, maybe the killer would have just gone ahead and killed them without the help of the blackout..." Jordan hypothesized. "And if they were still at the lower floors when the blackout started, well... maybe the killer would have just attacked them there instead of the third floor."

"That sounds reasonable, but I think the killer had a plan to lure them up to the third floor at that time," Seto declared.

"Really? What is it?" Bonks asked.

"When Tyler and I investigated the dance room, I found that the extension cords for the loudspeakers were untied. Previously, they had been unused and bound neatly by a Velcro strap. However, someone undid the Velcro. Not to mention, the cords were hot to the touch. It seems to me that a loudspeaker was placed outside the dance room for a reason."

"So what you're suggesting is that the killer used the loudspeakers... to attract Husky and Bodil to the third floor right before the blackout occurred?" Annie asked, her green eyes widening with surprise.

"Yes, that is what I'm suggesting," Seto replied. "This would ensure that the killer's targets would reach the third floor at the proper time, right before the blackout was scheduled. Furthermore, something else was used as a distraction. That something was Ryan's body."

"His body?!" Steven asked, horrified.

"Yes. In the music room, there was a music stand stashed in the supply closet. The top plate was dented, meaning that the killer used the music stand to prop the elevator doors open. When Husky and Bodil reached the third floor and saw the body, they would be distracted."

"Well okay, now we know what the killer did in advance, but none of this is leading us anywhere close to finding who did it!" Jason suddenly shouted.

"No... this does prove something," Seto corrected.

"Do tell..." Jason said, casting a suspicious gaze at Jordan as he crossed his arms. Jordan glanced back briefly, pity and sympathy crossing his face, before turning away.

"Bodil absolutely could not have done it. Earlier I said that there was a discrepancy with the evidence, but now there's no doubt about it."

"How do you know for sure?" Ashley asked.

"Unlike the air conditioners, the loudspeakers can't play music automatically, I'm pretty sure. Someone needed to physically be there to turn on the music at that time, and I doubt Husky would have let Bodil leave his side during the search."

"Well maybe Bodil had an ally!" Jason shouted. "Like Jordan!"

Jordan pressed his lips together. "It. Wasn't. Me."

"Well someone could have helped Bodil by being up on the third floor beforehand!" Something flashed in Jason's eyes as he suddenly realized something. "Ashley, Bodil told you about the plan, didn't he?"

Ashley clenched the podium stand tightly as she leaned to face Jason. "What the- Are you saying he killed Husky and _I_ helped him do it?!"

"Well either that or you were the killer and Bodil was your assistant! It would explain why he fell; you could have betrayed him in an attempt to shut him up! Besides, the killer had to have known about the plan somehow!"

"You're being completely irrational!" Annie shouted in her friend's defense.

"Well nothing else seems to be working!" Jason yelled. "I-I want to know who killed Husky and I don't fucking care how I do it!!!"

"Well you aren't thinking properly at all!" Ashley declared. "Why would I reveal the fact that Bodil told me about the plan if I had a role in the murder?!"

"To make you look innocent, of course!!!" Jason retorted.

Ashley grit her teeth. "Well what in the world would I gain from helping him?! I would just end up executed along with everyone else!"

"I said that you could also be the killer for a reason! Plus, in case you forgot what happened in the last trial, self-sacrifice is entirely possible!" Jason countered.

Jordan tried to voice reason. "We aren't getting anywhere arguing like this!"

"You're not off the hook yet either, Jordan!" Jason shrieked, all sense going out the window. "You're still the top suspect along with Ashley!"

Bonks suddenly burst into loud sobs of anguish. "Why- Why is this happening?! Why?! Why do we have to argue like this?! Why can't we just live in peace?!"

"Well one of you here killed Husky, so one of you has got to PAY!!!"

Steven finally mustered the courage to pipe up. "J-Jason, please calm down! Please! I know you're upset, but-"

"You stay out of this, Steven!" Jason yelled back. "Every single one of you is a possible suspect, and I'm going to find you out even if it's the last thing I do!"

"Please! This isn't like you at all, Jason!" Steven begged.

"I SAID STAY OUT OF THIS!!!"

"But-!"

"JUST _SHUT UP_ FOR ONE GODDAMN SECOND, WILL YOU!!!" Jason screamed, pounding his fist against the podium stand.

Steven drew back, gasping in shock, as tears welled up in his eyes. "'M- 'M sorry- I'm sorry-" he babbled almost incoherently. He crossed his arms over his chest and hunched over, trembling violently. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry I spoke when I shouldn't have- I'll shut up- Don't hurt me- Don't hurt me please-"

Bart and Dave both stiffened with anger. Bart stepped protectively in front of Steven while Dave wrapped his arms around Steven, who was struggling to take in shuddering gulps of air.

Jason stared at him silently, his mouth wide open with surprise.

"You've gone too far," Annie said, her green eyes glinting with silent rage.

Jason's head whipped to the side as he faced her. "YOU- YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL!!! NONE OF YOU DO!!! NONE OF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND HOW I FEEL!!!" he shrieked.

Seto clenched his teeth, momentarily losing his composure. "Wh-What in the world are you talking about, Jason, we've all lost somebody in this fucked up killing game-"

"WELL NONE OF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO JUST SIT BACK AND LET YOUR BEST FRIEND GET HIMSELF _KILLED!!!_ " Jason howled, his voice audibly cracking at the last word.

A dumbstruck silence filled the trial room, save for Steven's muffled sobs as he buried his face into Dave's shoulder.

Jason's breath hitched in his throat as he tried to speak. "N-None of you- kn-know..." He sniffled as he breathed shakily. "N-None of you know... What it's like... When it's a-all... your f-f-fault..." Jason covered his mouth with his hand as his sobs shook his whole body.

"...How was it your fault?" Ashley asked quietly. "You're not the one who killed him."

Jason's blue eyes were shiny with tears as he briefly met Ashley's gaze before looking away, ashamed. "I- I can't- I can't tell you..." he whispered.

"Why not?"

Jason shut his eyes tightly. "H-H-Husky... g-gave me the letter too... but- but I didn't... I didn't go..."

"Oh god," Annie blurted out, horror flooding her face.

"I- I- I was afraid it was a trap..." Jason sniveled noisily. "I- I thought the motive- might have done something to him- I- I didn't want to take the chance..."

No one knew what to say.

Jason howled. "I SHOULD HAVE TRUSTED HIM!!! I- I SHOULD HAVE GONE WITH HIM, THEN MAYBE THINGS WOULD BE DIFFERENT AND HE WOULDN'T BE DEAD!!! IT- IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!!"

Jordan finally spoke. "...It's not your fault, Jason, you couldn't have known-"

"I SHOULD HAVE!!! HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND MY WHOLE LIFE AND I B-BETRAYED HIM!!!" Jason gasped. "I- I bet he- he hates me now- I bet he wishes I was the one dead- instead of him- because- because I let him get killed- He wanted three people to join him for a reason and I didn't go- It's all my fault Bodil got hurt- It's all my fault Husky's dead-"

"Jason, don't blame yourself," Bonks whispered. "It's really not your fault, Husky would have understood-"

"NO! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE!!!"

"...I do."

Everyone turned to face Tyler, who rubbed his glasses with the hem of his jacket before putting them back on. "I know what it's like."

"N-No you don't-"

"I had a feeling Sky had the prize of 30 WitherCoins. He walked by me one day and I heard the coins jingle in his pocket. But I didn't say anything. And then he ended up using the prize to kill Jade before he was executed."

Jason sniffled and wiped his eyes. "But- But you couldn't have known-"

"I should have, probably more than you could have known Husky was telling the truth. But that doesn't matter. I've learned... since then... that there's no point in blaming myself. Sometimes we make a choice and disasters come from it. But the only thing we can do is try and keep our hopes up and work for a better future..." Tyler tilted his head. "Do you understand?"

Jason stared down at the ground for a long couple of seconds and swallowed. "I... I think I do..." He looked up and glanced at everybody. "I... I'm sorry I overreacted... And Steven, I'm sorry I made you upset..."

Steven was still clinging onto Dave, but did look better somewhat as he nodded slightly. "It's okay," he said in a faint voice.

"Are we done with all the sappy stuff?" MonoWither snapped. "Geez, we mean it _was_ entertaining to see all of you arguing rather than holding hands and going 'OUR HOPEFUL FRIENDSHIP WILL SAVE THE DAY!!!' like you guys always do, but come on! We've been sitting here for hours! Could you guys just hurry up, our nonexistent fingers are just _itching_ to press the button and start the verdict, and at this point we don't care if it's the killer or the rest of you guys! Now get to it!"

"Then... what else is there?" Jason asked quietly. "We can't be stuck, can we?"

"There could have been an ally, or no ally at all, but in any case someone else was up there despite the fact that the rest of us were all on the first floor during the time of the murder," Seto said. "But I have no idea how that can be explained..."

"Wh-What are we supposed to do?!" Annie asked, looking around wildly.

"Does anyone have anything left that could help us?" Ashley inquired.

There was an awfully dreadful silence as everyone prayed someone would speak up.

 _"Well, well, well..."_ MonoWither sighed. "That's quite a disappointment... You've reached a dead end, and after surviving two trials too... Well, we guess there's a slim chance you'll all guess it right! In fact, our calculations suggest that if you all guess randomly, the probability you will get a majority vote for the killer is an estimated 0.00070920613-" MonoWither suddenly stopped reciting the digits to take a deep breath. "Well, it's even worse considering that number doesn't take the killer's vote into account. The odds aren't looking so good, folks! Anyway, please pull the lever in front of you and-"

"Wait!"

Everyone turned to look at Bonks, who was staring at the floor. "I... I can't keep on ignoring this..."

"Ignoring what?" Jordan asked.

Bonks looked up and swallowed. "I'm sorry Steven..."

Steven glanced at her sharply, his face so drained of color he looked like a ghost. "Wh-What?!"

"I investigated the brewing room first..." Bonks murmured, unable to meet his gaze. "I didn't tell anyone about what I found because I just didn't want to believe it..."

"What did you find?" Steven asked in a trembling voice.

Bonks took a deep breath and closed her eyes before pulling out a torn piece of black cloth. "It left a slight purple stain against the wall. Enderman blood, isn't it?"

Steven made a choked sound in the back of his throat as he looked up at Bart, whose violet pupils were dilated in fear.

"...Steven, why was Bart in the brewing room?" Bonks asked faintly.

All eyes shifted to Steven as he stared at the piece of cloth like it was his signed death warrant.


	33. Blackened Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Reminder that there is an alternative endings + misc. scenes book)

"Oh, that's quite an interesting find you have there, Bonks!" MonoWither remarked. "How curious indeed, such a fine silk could only belong to a certain Enderman! We didn't even notice that since there were no security cameras! We wonder why Bart was there..."

"N-No- You've got it all wrong!" Steven yelled. "You don't understand! Bart wasn't in there! He wasn't in the brewing room at all!"

"Wellall we need to do is see if Bart has any tears in his suit!" Jason declared.

Bart took a step back, glaring at everyone as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"See? He's clearly suspicious!" Jason pointed out.

"But he wasn't in there! I- I swear! There must have been a mistake!"

"Oh my dear Stevie, are you calling Miss Bonks a liar?" MonoWither sneered. "That's not very gentlemanly of you!"

"I'm not calling her a liar, I'm just saying she's... she's... made a misunderstanding!"

"No, now that I recall, Ashley and I saw the purple blood in the brewing room as well, but we thought it was just a leftover stain from a potion or something," Annie said.

"That- That could be it! Something leftover from a potion!" Steven said frantically. "Um- Um- Potions of Regeneration are purple, right? So that could be it! The 'blood' is actually a **Potion of Regeneration**!"

**> >>-BREWING-ROOM-INVENTORY-> ((POTION OF REGENERATION))**

"No Steven, that can't be it," Seto said. "Ghast tears are needed to make Potions of Regeneration, and I doubt you could get Ghast tears here."

"Yep, yep! That's correct!" MonoWither chirped.

"Besides, that doesn't explain the black piece of fabric left behind," Ashley muttered.

Steven fumbled desperately for words. "Well- Well okay, he _was_ in the brewing room, but I swear he wasn't doing anything suspicious!!!"

"Then why was he in the brewing room in the first place, huh?" Jason asked, his fury sparking up again. "Why was he? Explain!"

"He- He- He-" Steven stammered, unable to get the words out in his panic.

"Just spit it out!" Annie shouted. "What was Bart doing in there?!"

"I- I can't-" Steven continued to stammer frantically, shutting his eyes tightly as he shook his head.

"Can't what?" Tyler asked.

"I- I just can't tell you!" Steven shrieked.

"Why not?" Jordan demanded.

"I'm sorry... I can't..." Steven whispered.

"You can't, or you won't?" Jason asked menacingly.

Steven remained silent.

"Isn't it obvious?! He's guilty! All three of them must have worked together to kill Husky!" Jason shouted. "It would also explain the contradiction with the people on the third floor and the people on the first floor, wouldn't it?! Bart could have teleported behind us when no one was paying attention! Plus, if I recall correctly, they only left Steven's room after the blackout!"

"It sure does sound suspicious, all right!" MonoWither declared, giggling.

"No, wait! Let Steven explain!"Bonksyelled. "We can't just gang up on him like this!"

"He just said that he couldn't explain!" Jason said, jabbing an accusing finger at him. "Think about this whole murder! Using aslimeto soak up the blood? Crafting poison using a Spider Eye? Not to mention the fact that he knew what Dragon's Breath could do? These all have to do with hostile mobs, and Steven sure has a lot of experience in that aspect!"

"No- No- I swear it's not what it looks like!" Steven shrieked. "You have to believe me!"

"Just say what Bart was doing in the brewing room, Steven..." Seto murmured.

"I- I honestly can't... You wouldn't believe me if I told the truth..." Steven whispered.

"Then just say it anyway!"Bonkscried out. "PleaseSteven! Just say the truth!"

By now Steven's face had turned as pale as a ghost's. His legs wobbled before his knees buckled underneath his weight. Bart caught him and pulled him up so he was standing again, tapping at his arm gently. Dave placed a reassuring hand on Steven's shoulder, tapping softly as well. Steven paused, his Adam's apple moving up and down as he swallowednervously,before he finally mustered the courage to speak. "B-Bart... was in the brewing room... because he had to make a Potion of Harming..."

"A Potion of Harming?! What for?!" Tyler exclaimed.

Steven winced and Tyler bit his lip. "S-Sorry... Go on..."

"He needed to make a Potion of Harming, and kill one of the spiders for its Spider Eye... because Dave reopened his arrow wounds..." Steven continued.

"He reopened his arrow wounds, huh?" MonoWither suddenly cut in.

"Yeah, he reopened his arrow wounds in the bathroom..." Steven replied. "He tripped and hit the sink..."

Dave nodded in affirmation.

"So why didn't you just buy one from the shop?!Whymake your own?! Ugh, you're not contributing to this capitalist society! Although we guess here it's a communist society? Hmm, that's interesting..."

"Because- Because who would trust what comes out of that shop?! You- You've been out to get Bart and Dave since Day One!" Steven shouted angrily. "You tried giving Dave a Potion of Healing when he was injured!!!"

"But we're so curious, is there _another_ reason-"

"Why are you interfering?" Seto asked.

"What? Interfering?" MonoWither repeated.

"For someone who kept insisting that they were merely hosts and not participants, you seem awfully persistent in being a part of this discussion," Seto noted.

"Wh- We can't even have fun in our own trial?! So selfish Seto, are you jealous that we're taking away the spotlight from you, the protagonist?"

"Protagonist?!"

"Fine, we'll stop! But holy crap, you guys are just so boring right now! The audience is thanking us for spicing things up a bit!"

"So that explains why Bart would make a Potion of Harming, but that doesn't explain why he was bleeding," Jordan pointed out.

"Yeah, he could have been bleeding if Husky or Bodil fought back..." Jason muttered in a low voice.

"No, Bart didn't attack anyone! He just accidentally snagged his sleeve against a sharp edge on the table!"

"Likely story!" Jason countered.

"Everyone, please settle down..." Seto said, rubbing his temples with frustration. "Thinking back to what Bonks found in the brewing room, a slice of Glistering Melon _was_ missing. Combined with a Fermented Spider Eye, it would make sense for Bart to have made a Potion of Harming as Steven said. It would also explain why one spider was killed. The other spider was probably killed by the murderer, who needed a Spider Eye for the poison."

"But couldn't Steven still be the killer?" Ashley asked. "Bart could have easily **made both...** "

**> >>-GOLDEN-CARROTS-> ((MADE BOTH))**

"A golden carrot was missing from the fridge," Seto recalled. "This indicates that the killer made a Potion of Night Vision, which makes sense considering their plan to attack Husky and Bodil in the darkness. Now, why would Bart, an Enderman, need to brew a Potion of Night Vision?"

"Maybe he made it for Steven?" Annie suggested.

"There would be no point for the killer to go through that extra trouble," Seto argued. "Brewing takes a lot of time and the killer already needed twopotionsfor their plan to work. No, Steven is not the killer."

There was a long silence. "S-So- do you still think Bart's the killer?" Steven asked tentatively.

"Oh you poor innocent fool!" MonoWither guffawed. "No one thought _Bart_ was the killer, everyone thought it was _you_!"

Steven's face blanched. "M-Me?! Wh-Why me?!"

"Because Bart isn't a participant in this game, you are! If Bart and Dave ever killed someone, under no circumstances would you be able to escape! In fact, it wouldn't even count! It would be utterly pointless, and we might punish them right on the spot just for the interference!"

"Well you won't have to worry about that, they wouldn't kill anyone!" Steven shouted.

"Upupupu... Upupupupupu!!!" MonoWither cackled. "They wouldn't kill anyone- Oh that's _hilarious_!!!"

Bart's pupils dilated and the Enderman began to shake. Dave grabbed his arm, tapping at it until he calmed down slightly.

"SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!!" Steven shrieked.

"Just leave them alone!!!"Bonkscried out. "Why are you saying these things?!"

"Because it's entertaining!!!" MonoWither replied raucously.

"So is Steven officially classified as innocent?" Jordan asked, glaring at MonoWither briefly. "Do we all agree?"

Everyone murmured in assent.

"...Yes..." Jason said softly. "...Sorry again for snapping..."

"It's okay..." Steven replied. "It's not your fault, I should have just said the truth instead of hiding it and making it more complicated for everybody..."

Bart suddenly walked forward, purple particles swaying in the air as they followed his movement. He grabbed Steven's arm and tapped at it urgently. Steven gasped audibly. "Wh-What?! Are- Are you sure?!"

Bart nodded and raised his arm, pointing directly at...

"...Ashley?" Steven whispered, horror lacing his voice.

Ashley frowned. "What about me?"

Steven swallowed. "B-Bart said that... when he was in the brewing room... the blackout happened... He saw you... attack them..."

For a few seconds, there was only a stunned silence, before...

"Is that so?" Ashley asked, her voice holding no emotion whatsoever.

"Is- Is that really all you're gonna say?!" Tyler exclaimed. "He just accused you of _murder_!"

"Hey, Ashley?! Did you do it?!" Jason shouted. "Was it you all along?!"

"No- No this can't be-!"Bonkscried out.

"Bart's testimony should be reliable since both his and Steven's names were cleared..." Jordan murmured.

"Ashley?! Don't you have anything to say?!" Annie asked frantically.

Ashley pursed her lips. "Well, if he really saw me attack them, why didn't he stop me?"

Bart drummed his fingers against Steven's arm.

"He... was too shocked to do anything at first, and it happened so fast, he didn't have time to react..." Steven explained. "And then he was afraid you would kill him..."

"Are you suggesting that I could kill an _Enderman_ with just a poisoned knife?" Ashley asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He isn't like other Endermen, he isn't a good fighter!" Steven defended. "And unlike Potions of Harming, poison does hurt him!"

"Are we sure his name is cleared?!" Annie asked. "Maybe Steven's just spouting nonsense now that we think he's innocent!"

"No, I'm not!" Steven retorted.

"There is one thing you all have forgotten," Ashley murmured. "You've forgotten the fact that everyone else other than the victims was on the first floor. I was there at the time of the blackout, you all saw me. Now how could I have gotten from the third floor all the way down to the first floor without being spotted?"

"Exactly! That doesn't make sense!" Annie shouted.

"M-Maybe a Potion of Invisibility?"Bonkssuggested.

For a moment, Seto briefly wondered if _Tyler_ had been the one to do it... He turned to face him, fear crossing his face.

Tyler, sensing his suspicion, subtly showed him the flask in his pocket. It was still filled halfway, just as before.

Seto, feeling slightly ashamed of himself for reacting without thinking, nodded and turned back.

"There were only two spiders killed last night, right? One by Bart for the Potion of Harming, and one by the killer for the poison. There was also only one Golden Carrot used by the killer for the Potion of Night Vision. To make a Potion of Invisibility, you need a Golden Carrot and a Fermented Spider Eye. Clearly, that proves that I could not have killed Husky since there was no way I could have snuck past any of you."

"But Bart saw you and he wouldn't have a reason to lie!!!" Steven shouted.

"Maybe you are still guilty after all. Bart was able to sneak past everyone by teleporting, unlike the rest of us."

The look on Steven's face was that of horrified betrayal, stunned by the fact that Ashley would say such a thing to him. "That- That's not what happened! Wouldn't Bart have been spotted anyway?"

"Your room is in the very back of the hallway, isn't it?" Ashley countered. "It would have been simple enough for Bart to teleport there without us noticing."

"But he's innocent! He would have no reason to brew a Potion of Night Vision!"

"...Perhaps he did it so we _wouldn't_ suspect him," Ashley muttered. "You can't prove that his testimony is correct. I didn't kill Husky or attack Bodil."

"Wh-What are we supposed to do?!" Jason asked frantically. "Who do we believe?! Ashley or Steven?!"

"You have to trust me!" Steven pleaded, placing a hand on his heart, tears streaming down his face. "Bart didn't do it!"

"I want to believe you, Steven, but..." Jordan said, trailing off.

"His testimony has many holes in it," Ashley stated. "We can't agree with something like that and deem me the killer on such a weak argument."

"Exactly! You can't believe him!" Annie declared. "It's simply illogical!"

Bonksstarted crying again. "Why is this happening?! I don't want to do this anymore!"

Seto gritted his teeth as he shut his eyes tightly. Bonks' anguished remarks resonated deeply within him, making his throat go dry. Why did this always have to happen? Why did it always come down to him choosing who to doubt and who to believe? Why?

The loud, chaotic arguing grew muffled. The courtroom around him faded from his mind as his thoughts drifted aimlessly. He didn't want to do this... 

Didn't want to think about this anymore... 

Didn't want to keep distrusting his friends like this...

Didn't want...

Didn't...

...

...

...

_"...Seto."_

A fuzzy memory came to mind. A man wearing a black cloak with a red heart on it was reaching his hand out to him, while his other hand held a white umbrella.

_"Seto, why aren't you in bed right now? It's raining and it's the middle of the night! You'll catch a cold out here, not to mention it's dangerous!"_

_"But Daddy, I don't like it inside... Now that we didn't pay the el..._ _ele_ _..."_ 4-year-old Seto's nose scrunched up. _"..._ _eletrickity_ _bill, the nightlight won't work..."_

The man frowned. _"Where did you hear about the electricity bill?"_

_"...I heard you arguing with that loud man on the_ _tellyphone_ _..."_

Pain briefly crossed his father's face. _"Ah... So you heard that."_

 _"Yeah..."_ Seto crossed his arms over his chest and shivered. Despite the fact that he was wearing his white cloak, he was still soaked to the bone.

_"Come inside, Seto. It's still warmer in here."_

Seto shook his head. _"But it's dark... I don't like it when it's dark... Big creepy monsters spawn in the dark... At least outside there's the tall lamp..."_ Seto pointed up at the top of the lamppost while standing on his tiptoes. _"See?"_

 _"Monsters won't attack you. I'll protect you from them,"_ Seto's father said, smiling warmly.

 _"But what if you aren't there? What if you get hurt?"_ Seto asked, terrified.

His father knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder. _"...Seto... It's true that I won't always be there to protect you from everything. Even though all I want in the world is for you to be safe and happy... Sometimes that can't happen."_

Seto turned away and stared down at the ground, quivering in fear. His father gently put his finger under the boy's chin. _"Seto, look at me."_

He obeyed.

_"Sometimes we all have to face the darkness. But that doesn't mean we should avoid it forever or cower in fear. It's okay to be afraid, but we have to be strong. The sun always rises eventually. It might take awhile, but it always does. You just have to wait and keep staying hopeful, okay? Can you do that for Daddy?"_

Seto thought for a moment before nodding. _"Okay, Daddy..."_

His father smiled before planting a tender kiss on his forehead. _"That's my boy. Now up we go!"_ Seto's father lifted up Seto, who wrapped his small arms around his father's neck, and held the umbrella over both of them. Seto buried his face in his father's shoulder and sighed as his father took them back into the small house they lived in. The darkness didn't seem that scary anymore... He just had to endure for now... And then everything would be all right eventually...

Eventually...

...

...

...

_...Seto?_

...

_Seto?_

Seto opened his eyes,soundand sight flooding back as he regained his senses.

"Seto?" Tyler whispered desperately from a few stands away. "What do you think?"

Seto stared at him before turning back to the scene in front of him.

"I am _not_ the killer, and I won't repeat myself," Ashley said, her dark eyes hardened with resolve.

"But Bart _saw_ you, he _saw you!!!_ " Steven shouted. "Bart is innocent and he says he saw you!"

"Explain how I could have gone from the third floor all the way to the first floor without being seen!" Ashley demanded.

Seto let out an inaudible gasp as something suddenly occurred to him.

"I- I don't know, okay! But I know you did it somehow!" Steven yelled back.

"How many times do I have to say this? There is **no possible way** to get from the third floor to the first floor thatfastand without being caught!" Ashley argued.

**> >>-SUDDEN-APPEARANCE-> ((NO POSSIBLE WAY))**

"...Ashley."

Ashley turned to him. "Yeah?"

"...Two days ago, Tyler and I were in the brewing room together. It was in the morning and we were completely alone, up until you suddenly showed up out of nowhere."

"What does that have to do with the trial?" Annie asked.

"It was strange how neither of us noticed you open the door and close it behind you like you claimed you did. It makes me question whether you even used the door to enter at all..."

"Are you implying that I phased through the door like a ghost or something?" Ashley deadpanned.

Seto paused. "Everyone, think back to two days ago in the morning from 7 am to 8:15 am. What were you doing?"

They all seemed rather bewildered by hisquestion,but answered anyway.

"Um, Dave and I were in the cafeteria... Bart got bored and left to do his own thing..." Steven murmured.

"I was in the cafeteria as well," Jordan said, nodding his head.

"So was I..." Annie murmured.

"I was in the computer room... with Husky..." Jason said softly.

"I was still asleep," Bonks finished.

"Did any of you see Ashley at all during that time period?

"Well, no, I don't think so..." Jordan said. "I woke up pretty early too, 7:10."

"So did we," Steven said. "Bart says that he didn't see her that morning, and he probably would have. The only ones he saw were you and Tyler in the brewing room and R-"

"-Anyone else?" Seto said quickly, flashing Steven a warning look and hoping he would understand. Steven gave him a confused expression but didn't press forward.

Jason shook his head.

"...I... didn't see her... She didn't go to the cafeteria at all..." Annie said hesitantly.

"What does any of that have to do with the murder?" Ashley asked, her dark eyes glinting dangerously.

"...I know it sounds ridiculous, but..." Seto stopped before forcing himself to keep going. "...there might be some sort of connection... between the brewing room and the personal rooms..."

"A connection? What do you mean by that?" Tyler asked, equally confused.

"Aw come on, some of you figured it out?" MonoWither groaned. "That was supposed to stay hidden!!!"

"What was supposed to stay hidden?!"Bonksexclaimed.

"Our lips are undeniably sealed! There's no way we can let everyone know about it or you'll start taking advantage of it!!!" MonoWither declared.

"We need your confirmation!" Seto shouted angrily. "If we don't, this trial won't end!"

"And why should we care?!"

"Because you don't want the show to end so soon, do you?"

MonoWither started to tremble. "S-Seto-senpai! Y-You've found our weakness! Oh no! Y-You're absolutely right, there's no way we can let the show end this soon!"

"Then just confirm or deny it!" Seto demanded.

"...Fine. But on one condition..." MonoWither said, grinning.

"...What condition?"

"You didn't take your pill yet, did you?" MonoWither asked, tilting their heads innocently.

Seto's face drained of color. So they _had_ noticed...

"Upupupu!!! You thought we forgot about that? Of course not! Now we'll confirm or deny your statement, but only if you take the magic-weakening pill!" MonoWither cackled. "So is it a deal or not?!"

Seto looked around wildly. If he didn't have his magic, he wouldn't be able to prevent whatever execution was about to happen...

"We'll give you a count of three! One... Two... Thr-"

"-I'll take it!"

"That's more like it, Seto!" MonoWither flew from their throne towards Seto and spat out a brown pill. Seto caught the pill and stared at it. "Well hurry up!"

Seto grimaced as he swallowed the pill dry. "Fine, I took your stupid pill. Now is my assertion true?"

"It seems we were careless, but yes... There is a **secret passageway** connecting your personal rooms to the brewing room!"

"A secret passageway? Like in movies?" Tyler asked skeptically.

"That does seem pretty out there..." Steven murmured.

"That's what the tapestry bearing our beautiful likeness in the brewing room is for! But it's really meant for our private purposes, so don't go using it yourselves... or else we may be forced to _punish you_!" MonoWither giggled. "Okay, that's it!"

"...So that confirms it. The killer could have discovered the entrance to the secret passageway and used it to return to their room after the murder without getting caught. Isn't that right, Ashley?"

"There is absolutely no proof that _I_ was the one who did it, though," Ashley pointed out. "So I happened to be in the brewing room and surprised you... That doesn't mean I used the passageway. I didn't even know about it. You **can't prove** that I did."

**> >>-** **MONOWITHER'S** **-DISTRACTION- > ((CAN'T PROVE))**

"During the blackout and a little bit afterward, MonoWither distracted us by talking about random subjects. It seemed like they were trying to stall for time, even when the backup generators ended the blackout. Now why were they stalling for time, you may ask? Perhaps they were waiting for the killer to return to their room after hiding all the evidence. And if I recall correctly, only you, Steven, Bart, and Dave were the ones to emerge from your rooms after the blackout ended."

Ashley shook her head. "That's a mere coincidence. I wasn't foolish enough to blindly run out in the middle of a blackout, especially after a body discovery announcement had already rung."

"There are too many coincidences," Seto countered. "First, Bart accused you. Second, you made that strange appearance in the brewing room, and no one saw you at all that morning. Third, you were one of the few to emerge from your room after the blackout ended. Fourth, Bodil told you about the plan, didn't he? Perhaps he also left his note behind, and you mimicked Husky's handwriting to trick Jordan..."

"That still doesn't prove anything," Ashley said, clenching the podium stand tightly as she glared Seto down.

"Do you have any actual proof you didn't do it?" Seto countered.

"...No. No, I don't at this point. Everything seems to beagainstmy favor somehow, but I am telling the truth. You are the one who hasn't proved anything. The only basis you have in your accusation are mere coincidences."

Pain flashed across Seto's face. "Ashley... Please. I don't want to drag this out any longer. I don't want to see you as a liar any longer. I don't want to argue with you like this any longer. Just listen to me and confess..."

For a split second, Ashley's firm resolution wavered as her eyes lost that hardened determination, giving way to sorrow. But the next thing Seto knew, it was gone.

"I don't know how many times I must repeat myself. I won't admit to a crime that I didn't commit. That would be suicide, plain and simple, and I won't back down. I will stand by what I've been saying this whole time. For the final time, I did not use the passageway. I just did _not_. You have **no proof** that I used that passageway at all!"

**> >>-** **RYAN'S** **-LOCATION- > ((NO PROOF))**

"...So on the day Tyler and I were in the brewing room, you used the stairs to reach the third floor, correct?" Seto asked.

Ashley nodded. "Yes, that's what I did. I didn't know about the passageway, after all."

"How long were you on the third floor before you entered the brewing room?"

Ashley pursed her lips, narrowing her eyebrows. "I don't... exactly remember... It wasn't for very long, I believe."

"Would you say a few minutes?"

"...I'm not sure why that's important."

"So I'm assuming you also passed by Ryan as he was sitting on the steps, correct?"

Ashley nodded. "Yes, I passed by him."

"Are you sure?"

"...Yes. I'm sure."

Tyler gave Seto a horrified stare, both realizing the same thing.

"...I'm sorry Ashley," Seto murmured. "You just dug your own grave."

Ashley drew in a sharp breath. "Wh-What in the world do you mean?"

"Ryan was not sitting on the steps when you reached the third floor. According to MonoWither..."

_"He went straight from his room and was sitting on the steps for about a minute before Ashley left the brewing room and saw him. She tried talking to him but all he did was leave and go to the elevators, where once again you guys tried to talk to him. He doesn't want to listen to any of you!"_

For possibly the first time, Ashley fumbled for words. "Well- Well I might have remembered incorrectly-"

"Yet another coincidence?"

Ashley breathed heavily, her pupils dilated, her eyes darting back and forth as she desperately tried to contrive some sort of defense, but she couldn't.

"N-No- This can't be..." Annie whispered. "Ashley? Did you really...?"

Jason's body trembled as he stared at Ashley, completely at a loss for words.

"...I should go over the case one more time. Just in case I missed something..." Seto said softly.

"Two days ago, everyone woke up and found Ryan missing. Although he was always one to wander off by himself when everyone else was asleep, no one could find him no matter how hard we searched. However, what we didn't realize was that we were already too late. Ryan had already committed suicide by hanging himself in the elevator shaft by the third floor the night before. This was how Ryan seemingly 'disappeared' without a trace; no one thought to check the elevator shafts because MonoWither had already glued the doors shut on the first floor to prevent people from climbing up.

"Last night, after MonoWither revealed the motive, Husky was worried that someone would target Ryan, not knowing that it was a lost cause. Thus, Husky gave letters to Jason, Jordan, and Bodil and slipped them underneath their doors, telling them to meet him in the central hall at 11:00 pm. 

"When Bodil received his letter, he told a certain person he trusted about the plan to search for Ryan. Little did Bodil know that by telling said person, he was sealing their fates for good. The person told Bodil that they wouldn't go, butin realitythey were coming up with a plan for murder and preparing to set it in motion.

"The killer, probably mimicking Husky's handwriting by using his letter to Bodil, wrote a letter to Jordan changing the time from 11:00 to 10:30. Jordan, noticing that the handwriting was the same, believed the letter's integrity and went to the central hall at that time. However, he only encountered the killer, who threw a sleeping potion at him to knock him out. The killer probably had two goals in mind: one was to frame Jordan by placing his body in an instrument case in the music room and the other was to use Jerry to conceal the blood. Unfortunately for the killer, Jerry was uncooperative and they were forced to use one from the monster hallway.

"The killer was now on the third floor and eventually opened the elevator door; however, they saw Ryan's body hanging there. The killer decided to use this to their advantage and distract their chosen targets. They used a music stand from the music room to prop the elevator doors open, but the prolonged pressure from the doors eventually bent the metal slightly.

"Next, the killer went to the dance room and turned on all the strobe lights, the dance floor, and all other equipment there. They then scheduled the air conditioners in both the dance room and the music room to turn on at the highest level at precisely 11:59 pm. They did this in preparation for causing a blackout at that time. The killer also took out a loudspeaker from the dance room and used extension cords to connect them to the soundboard all the way in front of the elevators.

"At some point, the killer bought a knife at the shop and decided to lace it with poison for good measure. MonoWither sold them Dragon's Breath so they could do this, but they also needed to brew the actual poison itself and a Potion of Night Vision. Most of the materials required were already provided by the brewing room, but they needed a spider eye for the poison, so they killed a spider in one of the monster rooms. After they were finished, they waited for Husky and Bodil on the third floor.

"Husky and Bodil met at 11:00 pm as planned and probably waited for Jason and Jordan before deciding he wasn't going to show up. They started searching for Ryan all over the building, scouring each floor in an attempt to findhim,and probably reached the second floor close to midnight. However, the killer started to play music from the loudspeaker on the third floor. The two of them ran up to where the music was playing, only to find Ryan's body in the elevator shaft. This triggered the body discovery announcement to play, waking the rest of us up. However, at 11:59 pm, the air conditioners activated right on schedule, tripping the power breaker and causing a blackout.

"Husky and Bodil were rendered helpless in the darkness. Able to see due to the Potion of Night Vision, the killer probably first charged at Bodil and tried to stab him with his knife, but he ended up falling down the elevator shaft while trying to dodge the blow. He probably managed to survive the fall by grabbing onto the wires on the side as he fell, which is why he dislocated one of his shoulders. He still broke his legs and many other bones, but nevertheless, the murderer failed to kill him as they planned.

"Next, the killer slashed at Husky with their knife. Husky must have tried to avoid the blow, but it still grazed his side and drew blood. Unfortunately, the wound hampered his efforts to escape, especially because the knife was laced with poison. Husky collapsed to the floor and the killer dealt what was supposed to be the killing blow by slashing his throat. Husky probably only had time to consume a Potion of Strength before the attack, but it only enough to keep him alive for a little bit longer.

"But after all this, the killer failed to notice that their crime had been witnessed by Bart. Bart was in the brewing room when the blackout occurred, making a Potion of Harming for Dave who had reopened his arrow wounds. However, he was unable to stop the murder or apprehend the killer because of the initial shock and the possibility that he would be killed himself. He teleported away, returning to Steven's room without being caught.

"The killer pushed Husky's body down the elevator next to the one where Bodil's body was. They moved the loudspeaker back to where they were in the danceroom,but left the extension cordsuntiedin their rush. They then concealed the place of murder by getting rid of the bloodstains. They did this by going to the room with slimes and using one to suck up the blood. Although this made it difficult for us to figure out the circumstances of the case, the slime left a sticky residue that the killer could not clean up, probably due to time constraints.

"Finally, the killer returned to their room by using the secret passageway that connects the brewing room to the personal rooms. At some point during this, the backup generators activated and the blackout ended. The killer emerged from their room, claiming that they didn't want to leave in the middle of a blackout. However, that was a lie to cover up what they did.

"These are all the facts of the case. Ryan committed suicide the night before. The killer, although having nothing to do with his death, decided to use it to their advantage as a distraction. This is the undeniable truth: the one who attempted to murder Bodil, framed Jordan, and killed Husky is none other than Ashley!"

There was a dreadful, horrified silence at the end of Seto's words. Ashley... the killer... It just seemed so unbelievable, even to Seto...

Seto turned to Ashley, whose eyes were closed. "...Ashley? Is there anything left you have to say?"

Ashley was silent. It didn't even seem like she had heard Seto. Despite everything, she seemed calm and peaceful.

"Ashley?" Annie whispered shakily.

"...There are two kinds of poor kids out in the streets," Ashley murmured, almost to herself. "There are the beggars and then there are the thieves. But no matter what you did, in order to survive, you needed to look as innocent as possible... I guess I lost my skill, huh..." Ashley opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "I won't argue anymore, Seto. There isn't anything left to say. After everything you just said... After everything you managed to figure out despite my best efforts... there's no point in drawing things out any longer. I failed, and that's all there is to it. So I'll just admit it right now."

Ashley took a deep breath and opened her eyes. "...You're right, Seto. I was the one who killed Husky."

Although Ashley sounded collected and indifferent, Seto could almost feel the dark, corrupted despair in Ashley's voice as she finally confessed to her crime.


	34. Fight or Flight

"Well then, we guess it's finally time for the ending of the third Show Trial! Please use the lever in front of you and cast your vote! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?! Oh by the way, if you think there's more than one killer, you must vote for each person! People who commit suicide are the killers, since they essentially murdered themselves! Maybe that's the worst crime of all!" MonoWither remarked.

There was the usual hesitation as everyone placed their hands on their levers. It scared Seto how this was almost becoming some sort of routine... MonoWither's speech, everyone's hesitation, before...

One by one, each person moved the lever to Ryan's name and cast their vote. Then they moved to Ashley's name and voted again.

Once again, the golden slot machine rose up in the center. The three slots spun wildly, and Seto noticed that Ryan and Husky's faces had joined the others in their gray color scheme. Finally, the slots came to a halt and stopped on Ashley's image. Confetti burst from the machine as the words "GUILTY" flashed on top of the machine.

"Good job everyone! You voted correctly for the third time! Wow, you guys are getting really good at this!" MonoWither cheered. "Yes indeed, Ryan was his own murderer by committing suicide, and the one who killed Husky was Ashley, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Survivalist! Hah! How despairingly ironic!"

Ashley had her arms crossed over her chest. For someone who had just been found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, she looked remarkably calm.

"I truly cannot understand why... you'd do something like this... Ashley..." Bonks whispered.

"The motive had nothing to do with it, right?" Annie asked, her tone now desperate. "You wouldn't kill someone for something, that... that _superficial_ , right?!"

Ashley paused for a few moments before smiling bitterly. "...So you think that highly of me, huh?"

Annie's face paled. "Wh... What?"

Jason gritted his teeth together and balled his hands into fists. "Don't tell me... You murdered Husky over _money_? You killed him so you could have all the goddamn money you ever wanted?! That's why you- you chased him down and stabbed him to death?!"

Ashley pursed her lips together, not replying.

Jason's cerulean eyes, shiny with tears, flashed with burning anger. "You- You fucking _selfish bitch!_ " he screamed before bursting into anguished sobs. No one had the heart to tell Jason to calm down. Everyone shared at least some of his sentiment...

"I can't believe it... That's really why you killed him?" Steven asked, horrified.

"For all the money in the world..." Tyler murmured in disbelief.

Jordan didn't speak, but he looked very troubled.

"Explain, Ashley," Seto murmured quietly. "Please. I know you, there must be something more to this than what we're thinking..."

"...Explain what?" Ashley asked. "Explain my motive? Will that change anything? It won't bring Husky back. It won't heal Bodil's wounds. It won't stop my execution."

"But we deserve to know!" Annie cried out. "You were our friend! At least let us understand why you'd do something as awful as this!"

"...Oh..." Ashley said softly. "You're hoping this might be like Sky... or like Mitch... Perhaps I had some honorable reason... Or perhaps it was somehow an accident... Well, if that's what you're hoping for... _You've got that wrong._ "

"...Wrong?" Jordan asked.

"My reason for murder was purely selfish. It was for my own personal interests alone. And that's that."

"I don't believe you," Seto replied. "You're not being completely honest. You're hiding something."

"Am I?"

"Tell us the _real_ reason, please."

"...Fine. You want to know the real reason why I murdered Husky? It's simple. My motive was _survival_. Why? Because money is survival."

"Money is survival?" Bonks repeated. "What... What do you mean by that?"

"None of you truly understand, do you? Well, maybe a few of you do, I don't know. I was once a girl in a run-down neighborhood who had to steal money for food to eat. And sure, my parents managed to move us to a better place eventually. But I never forgot what it was like. Most of you started off with a decent standard of living. Most of you don't know the feeling of being stuck in piles of debt like I do right now. Most of you don't know the feeling when money is all you need to save your life, and you don't have enough. And I'm glad you don't, to be honest. But for people like me... Money is survival."

"...You're stuck in debt?" Tyler asked, surprised.

"Sadly."

Steven looked confused. "But how? Don't you get a lot of money for participating in Survival games-"

"It's not enough. Not sure if you noticed, but I've stopped winning a long, long time ago. And there is a reason for that, but I'm not very keen on telling you."

"Then why didn't you at least tell us you needed money?" Annie demanded. "We- We could have paid off your debts for you, you didn't have to kill-"

"You don't understand _why_ I'm in debt though." Ashley replied.

"Oh! Oh! Let us explain!" MonoWither cut in. "You see, remember in Part 02 when the secrets were introduced?"

Seto looked bewildered. "P-Part 02, what the hell are you talking about-"

"Part 02 of this show of course! Anyway, remember that? Ashley here didn't kill anyone in Part 02, but she did have a terrible secret of her own! Ashley, would you like to take the special honor?"

Ashley clenched her jaw. "...Must I?"

"Of course you must! Everyone's practically dying to know how you're in Stage II of breast cancer- Oh dear, we said it for you on accident, our apologies..." MonoWither said, their smiles indicating that they were not sorry at all.

For a few moments, everyone was too shocked and horrified to speak.

"...You have breast cancer?" Annie asked, appalled.

Ashley couldn't meet anyone's eyes as she looked away.

"But... health care is mostly free..." Jordan said. "And scientists found the cure for cancer about 10 years ago..."

"...The treatment only works 95% of the time," Ashley replied curtly. "Guess who's lucky enough to be part of the 5%?"

"Oh god..." Bonks whispered sadly. "Ashley... That's terrible... I'm so sorry..."

"Well, now that MonoWither went ahead and revealed my secret, I guess there's no point in hiding anything else," Ashley murmured. "The reason why I'm in debt? Remember that mysterious group Mitch mentioned last time?"

All the blood drained from Seto's face. _No..._

"What about them?" Steven whispered, dread filling his voice.

"I was involved with them... Unlike Mitch though, I know what they're called. They call themselves the _Order of the Ender Dragon_."

Seto felt like he'd been punched in the gut. That wretched name... He hadn't heard it in years...

"Enhancement drugs aren't the only thing they sell. No, they also sell cancer treatment pills that are 100% effective."

"So- So you bought stuff from this group too?!" Tyler exclaimed.

Ashley grimaced. "What can I say? I was desperate. I didn't want to die. I jumped at the chance to save my life. The thing is, the pills really do work. I took one everyday, and my tumor kept shrinking until one day the regular doctors confirmed it was totally gone. Unfortunately, those bastards from that group... They made the pills so that after one week of not taking any, the tumor immediately begins to grow and spread at a faster rate than before. So I was stuck with paying them and taking pills everyday so that the cancer wouldn't come back." She smiled bitterly. "Eventually I ran out of money. And ever since then, my cancer's been spreading. None of you understand the feeling of your body getting weaker and weaker... It's been harder and harder to act normal, like nothing hurts at all... The doctors said I only have six months left, tops, you know?"

"...So... That's why you wanted the money MonoWither offered..." Annie said quietly, a torn expression on her face. "That's why... That's why you... did what you did..."

"But that's no fucking excuse!" Jason shrieked angrily. "You didn't have to kill anyone! Why didn't you just ask us for help? We would have given you all the money you needed! We could have helped you once we all got out of here together somehow! YOU DIDN'T NEED TO KILL HUSKY!"

"...I said I killed Husky for _survival_ , didn't I? Money was just one part of it," Ashley said. "Do any of you really think we can all get out of here together? Is that what you really think?"

"What do you mean?" Jordan demanded.

"We've been here for, what, 12? 13 days? No one's coming to rescue us. Either no one knows we're here, or for some reason they just can't. And there's no escaping this place either. That means there's only one way out..."

"You don't know that!" Tyler yelled.

"Maybe I don't. But the longer I'm in here, the closer I am to dying. And I don't mean dying from cancer, I mean from one of you guys."

"One of us?" Steven asked, shocked.

Ashley drew a long breath. "Don't you see? This 'communal' life thing we've been trying to do isn't working at all. It can't work. Human beings are naturally selfish, and human beings are all part of the animal kingdom. We all want to survive and we'll do whatever it takes to do it. We'll even sacrifice those who we once considered friends. Sky, Mitch... They were willing to sacrifice all of us... They didn't want to live the communal lifestyle, did they? It's because of them that I learned, no, _was reminded_ of a valuable lesson. When it comes to survival, it's everyone for themselves. We are no different from other animals in nature. So yes, I was selfish. But someone was going to do it. Maybe one day someone would have committed a murder that we couldn't solve. Or maybe one day someone would have targeted me, and I couldn't defend myself. Whatever might have happened, I didn't want to wait for that day to come."

Bonks swallowed. "Ashley, you can't just... lose hope like that-"

"Hope? You really think _hope_ is going to solve anything?!" Ashley asked, her dark eyes flashing. "Haven't you learned a single damn thing from the previous murders? There is no hope here! There's only a fight for survival! It's a dog-eat-dog world! Friendship, love, all of that goes out the window eventually!"

There was silence as everyone realized the terrible truth of Ashley's words.

"Then why did you save Bodil?" Seto asked quietly.

Ashley's eyes widened. "...What?"

"When you realized that he was still alive, you demanded MonoWither to save his life even though they were just going to let him die. If you really think friendship and love go out the window, if you really didn't care about him... then why did you save him?"

Ashley looked away for the second time. "...I don't believe in unnecessary killing. One kill was enough."

"Don't lie to us, Ashley!" Seto shouted. His raised voice was enough to startle everyone out of their own thoughts and pay attention. "What if you'd actually succeeded and we didn't catch you? Wouldn't Bodil have died anyway?"

Ashley stared down at the floor, not replying.

"You knew there was a chance you'd be caught. You knew there was a chance the rest of us would live and you would die, so you didn't want to take away Bodil's chance, isn't that right?"

Ashley remained silent for a few moments before finally meeting Seto's piercing gaze. "...If that's what you want to believe, then go ahead. It's not like he's going to see me in a positive light after this."

"So are we ready?" MonoWither asked, barely containing their excitement. "Because it's time for Part 03 to end! As is the custom, we have a very thrilling and despairing climax!"

Right on cue, a door behind Ashley swung open and revealed a dark hallway.

No one knew what to say, not even Jason, who was still sniffling loudly and trying to hold back his sobs. At this point, they had all learned that there was no use trying to stop the execution... And there was nothing more they could say to Ashley, who was treating all of this with the relatively same calmness as before as she walked towards the hallway.

"Well, I suppose I lost this game of 'survival of the fittest'. So I guess that it's my time to... die..." Ashley said, trailing off briefly, before shaking her head. "No, that's not it. I'll do whatever it takes to survive this execution somehow. I still stand by what I said earlier, but if you guys don't believe me then... as a final request, please prove me wrong. If you really think you can get out of here together, or at least survive peacefully without killing any more people, then... prove it if you can. That's all I want to say."

"Really now?" MonoWither asked. "Is that all? What about Bodil, huh? Got any last thing to _confess_ to him?"

Ashley glared at the machine, but for one split second Seto noticed her expression break. "...There's nothing he'd want to know about. Not after what I did to him."

"Fine then, if you say so! Let's get this party started!" The machine cleared its throat. "Now then, we've prepared a very special punishment for the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Survivalist! Well, we guess there's a reason why we gave her the title of the 'Survivalist' and not the 'Survivor', huh? We mean, she does claim she'll try to escape her punishment, but we'll see about that! _**Upupupu**_ _ **!**_ "

For the third time, a red button rose up in front of MonoWither.

For the third time, a claw by the wall lifted a gavel into the air.

For the third time, MonoWither brought down the gavel and delivered their ultimate sentence.

* * *

**(Execution Music-<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcQh6HsU_IA>** **)**

**SHOW'S OVER:** **ASHLEY** **HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY. TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!**

The camera showed a dark room, illuminated only by the dim light of a heart monitor, which showed a relatively stable heartbeat. The monitor beeped at a steady rhythm each time the line reached the top. Next to thea heart monitor was Ashley, who was lying on her stomach, her wrists and ankles chained to a bed on a patient table in front of a strange sort of cylindrical tube. Seto had no idea what the contraption even was.

"They seriously decided to use an MRI machine?" Annie whispered between clenched teeth. "The fucking nerve..."

Ashley looked around the all-too familiar setting and released a long, shaky breath before closing her eyes.

That was when the lights in the MRI machine flickered on, showing the cramped room Ashley was trapped in, and the contraption began to make whirring sounds as it activated. Before Ashley could react, a claw stuck a needle in her lower back before pressing the plunger. The heart monitor began to beep more rapidly as her heart beat dramatically increased at a far-too quick pace. Ashley's eyes began to bulge as her breathing grew more rapid and shallow, and her muscles tensed to the point where her whole body began shaking violently. Seto realized that she was overdosing on a Potion of Strength, which was essentially adrenaline amped up to the extreme.

The bed Ashley was lying on began moving into the tube of the MRI machine, which was vibrating intensely and making all sorts of unpleasant buzzing and hissing noises; however, Ashley clung onto the patient table outside the tube. The walls of the narrow room suddenly fell apart to reveal her true surroundings: the bottom of a high, snowy mountain.

The MRI machine, which had rockets in the back, suddenly blasted forward, and it took all of Ashley's strength to keep herself outside the tube. It soared its way up the mountain, the flames melting the snow beneath the MRI machine. Ashley had an unmistakable look of terror on her face (the adrenaline not helping matters) as she realized that she was about to crash against a steep side of the mountain. Filled with a powerful urge to _survive_ , Ashley tugged against the four iron chains holding her wrists and ankles down.

 _She's not going to make it..._ Seto thought with dread.

Suddenly, the iron chains holding down her wrists snapped. Ashley, still gripping onto the patient table, pulled herself forward and broke the chains restraining her ankles.

The cliff side was dangerously approaching. Ashley let herself fall into the tube. With as much force as possible, she began kicking the back of the MRI machine.

_She can't possibly make it..._

The back of the MRI machine, which had the rockets, suddenly broke off as Ashley successfully kicked it down. Ashley tumbled out of the machine right before it crashed into the cliff side with a loud explosion that shook the whole earth.

There was no way she could have survived that, at least that was what Seto thought. Slowly, the camera showed the wreckage of the MRI machine, which was now reduced to fractured remains and smoking rubble in the snow. It dipped down and zoomed in on the destruction. Seto desperately searched for a sign, _any_ sign of Ashley...

He finally caught a glimpse of her red shirt as she laid there, buried under the snow. For a moment, it seemed like she was dead... But once again defying all the odds, Ashley pushed herself up, shaking the snow from her back. Somehow she was still alive.

Hope filled Seto's heart as he realized that she had survived. But that hope quickly burst once he noticed the way Ashley was struggling to even support herself. Her entire body was bruised and battered, and it looked like her right leg was broken. Her arms shook violently as she weakly tried to support herself. She coughed up scarlet flecks as she breathed heavily, gasping for air. She was still overdosing on the Potion of Strength, and her eyes were too dilated for Seto's comfort.

Ashley had never looked so... weak... and fragile... The pitiful sight of her struggling to move was despairing enough to watch. Why was she still trying to survive? What was moving her forward?

The frosty wind howled, chilling Ashley to the bone as she shivered uncontrollably. Snowflakes clung to her eyelashes as she blinked rapidly, collecting herself. It looked like she wanted nothing more than to just collapse in the snow and succumb to the urge to sleep... It would be a peaceful end... But no, she wouldn't let herself give up like that. She didn't want to die.

That's when the entire mountain shook, the rumbling sound filling the air. The snow around her began to shift slowly before more and more started to break free and tumble downwards. Ashley raised her head and stared up at the cliff as snow began to fall from the top. The quaking grew more violent, intensifying with each second. As Ashley's rapid breaths formed short clouds in the air, her eyes fixated on the giant, solid blanket of snow on the clifftop that had rolled off and was now barreling at full speed towards her...

Despair consuming her expression, Ashley realized that there was no chance of her surviving this. No matter how much she fought, she was so small and insignificant compared to that rolling mass of snow... She might as well be a tiny ant about to be smashed by a human's foot...

Maybe there were tears streaming down her face. Maybe it was just the snow melting on her skin. Perhaps it was a mixture of both. But Seto would never know...

Ashley closed her eyes tightly, her face strangely peaceful for once, as she accepted nature's course.

* * *

"Such a shame!" MonoWither remarked. "She spent all that time trying to fight for her life, but in the end she just gave up... Such is the cruel inevitability of nature..."

"Shut up! SHUT UP!" Annie shrieked, her voice cracking as she sobbed raggedly. "FUCK YOU!"

"Oh poor Annie... Ashley was a close friend of yours, wasn't she?" MonoWither asked innocently.

Annie glared at the machine with her green eyes, which were shiny with tears. "You... Henri Rennet... Whoever you really are, I swear... I _swear_ I will _kill_ you." Her fists shook as she clenched the podium stand so hard, her knuckles were white.

"Is that... a _threat_ we hear?" MonoWither asked, almost in disbelief, before bursting into peals of laughter. "Oh- Oh my god- the _look_ on your face, you're actually serious-!"

"SHUT UP!" Annie yelled again. "You- I swear- I swear I'll put an end to your sick, twisted game! I'm done with being weak and just _letting_ you keep doing this to us! No matter what it takes, no matter how long, I swear I will _DEFEAT YOU!_ "

"Oh really? And how exactly do you expect to do that? Hmm?" MonoWither inquired, tilting their heads in mock curiosity.

"That doesn't matter right now!" Annie shouted. "I'll find a way, I'll find out where you're hiding and I'm going to-"

"-'Kill you', is that what you were going to say?"

"...I'll make sure it happens somehow," Annie hissed.

"Really? You really think so? You really think someone like _you_ can defeat me? The _**puppetmaster**_ behind all of this?"

Annie tried to hide it, but Seto could see pain flash across her face for a moment.

"Are you saying that because you really believe it? Or are you just saying that because you feel guilty?"

"...Why would I feel guilty?" Annie asked in a low voice.

"Oh, the list goes on and on! For instance, you couldn't stop Ashley, your close friend, from falling into despair and committing murder!"

Annie couldn't conceal her flinch. "Th-That doesn't have to do with anything!"

"Nothing to do with anything? But Annie..."

MonoWither suddenly flew in close as their voice dropped. _**"...if you weren't strong enough to stop Ashley, your friend of all people, from committing murder, how are you going to be strong enough to defeat me and stop this game?"**_

Annie's eyes widened as a terrible realization crossed her mind.

"No, Annie..." Seto tried to say. "They're wrong, you're stronger than they are-"

Annie, completely silent, merely shook her head before bowing it in defeat.

Seto felt chills run up and down his spine. It wasn't like Annie to back down like this...

"That execution... was just too cruel..." Bonks whispered, tears streaming down her face.

"It's not as cruel as what Ashley did to Husky, right Jason?" MonoWither asked. "Didn't you just enjoy watching Ashley suffer? Don't you feel glad that Husky was finally avenged?"

Jason didn't answer, but his face looked terribly conflicted between remorse and anger.

"Leave Jason alone," Jordan muttered. "He's been through enough."

"Why did you have to draw it out?" Steven asked quietly, horrified.

"Oh come on Steven, _we're_ not the ones who drew it out! Weren't you paying attention at all? Ashley was the one who wouldn't let herself die peacefully! We mean, crashing into a cliff side would be pretty brutal but it would have been instantaneous! She probably wouldn't have even felt her bones getting smashed-"

"You're just fucked up," Tyler hissed, narrowing his eyes as he glared at the machine. "You just find all this suffering some form of entertainment... You'll never get tired of this, will you? You're the most sick person in the world, I never imagined someone like you could really exist..."

"Oh please, like any of you are pious saints!" MonoWither scoffed. "Blaming us? Really? You heard Ashley! All of you are capable of cold-blooded murder!"

"That's not what she really believed!" Seto shouted, silencing everyone. "Ashley didn't truly believe that! After all, she saved Bodil's life, didn't she?! And she wanted us to prove her wrong! It was her last request! For her sake, no, for _everyone_ who died... Ashley... Ryan... Husky... All of them... They wouldn't want us to lose hope like this!"

"Oh please Seto, you really think they're going to listen to _you_?!" MonoWither taunted. "At the end of every trial you've said 'We can't lose hope! We have to keep moving forward!' _**AND FOR WHAT?!**_ "

Seto flinched as the words cut deep into his soul.

"Haven't you realized that no one's listening to you, Seto?! Don't you see?! You've _**failed**_ every time! Every time you've _**failed**_ to protect your friends, every time you've _**failed**_ to show them hope, every time you've _**failed**_ to prevent a killing! And yet here you are, preaching the same baseless crap that no one's following! You want to know _why_ no one listens to you? Because who would ever listen to someone like _you_? You, who once tried to kill a close friend yourself? You, who's still hiding his secret from the others? How can you talk about _hope_ , how can you act like their leader when you're practically no better, no, _worse_ than the rest of the killers? Hah! Honestly Seto!"

Seto looked away, fighting back the tears that had sprung up in his eyes. "I... I just..."

"Let's just go." Everyone turned to Jason as he stood up a little straighter. His blue eyes, once filled with exuberance, were now dull and lifeless. "There's nothing more we can do here. Let's just go back."

Annie nodded. "I'm tired of all this."

One by one, everyone headed to the elevator. Seto stood there and watched them go for a moment, realizing how MonoWither's words were painfully, hopelessly true...

* * *

Seto stared up at the dark ceiling as he laid down on the bed. Sleep was out of the question, at least that much was obvious. Surely he'd been lying there for hours? He looked at the time and realized that only 10 minutes had passed.

Perhaps he needed to check on a certain person...

Seto quickly slipped on his cloak and left his room, making sure to grab his e-Handbook and key on the way out. He made his way up the stairs and tried not to pay attention to the elevator (the memories were still fresh on his mind, after all). He reached the second floor and headed over to the infirmary entrance. The scanner by the door emitted a cold, unfriendly red light, which turned green once Seto scanned his e-Handbook.

Seto opened the door and entered the uninviting infirmary, carefully closing the door behind him. It was too dark to see, so Seto formed a magical ball of light in his hands. The action, however, sent a pang rushing to his head as he winced. The pill was still taking slight effect, it seemed.

That was when he heard soft whimpers coming from one of the gurneys in the back. Startled, Seto rushed over to the sound and saw Bodil lying on the mattress. He looked... _awful_. Both of his legs were elevated and wrapped in casts. He was wearing a neck brace and a splint on his right arm for his previously-dislocated shoulder. His condition was stabilized, it seemed, and there weren't any infections in his wounds, but it would take awhile for Bodil to recuperate. Healing potions were only so effective for broken bones; although they did successfully mend the fractures, the bones remained very brittle and prone to breaking again very easily. Hence the casts for his legs.

Bodil was still unconscious, but he was fidgeting on the bed. He let out a few agitated whines and whimpers as he moved restlessly. Sweat dampened his forehead, and his face was taut and extremely pale. Seto's eyes widened as he flicked on the lamp next to Bodil, letting his magical light fade out. "Oh- Oh god..." Seto whispered, realizing just how much pain Bodil was in. Why the hell hadn't MonoWither given him anesthesia? Seto ran to the potion cabinet and rummaged through the contents, trying to see if there was any potion that could alleviate his suffering. There wasn't.

Bodil's moans of agony began to increase in volume. Seto shut the potion cabinet and, growing desperate, tried to open the door to the left despite the fact that it had been locked before. To his surprise, it opened. Inside he saw IV bags on poles, along with a bunch of other supplies Seto didn't care about at the moment. Fortunately, all the IV bags were labeled and already prepared for him, and he quickly found one for anesthesia.

Seto rolled the IV pole out to Bodil and ran into the bathroom to wash his hands. He found sterile gloves in the cabinet there and put them on before heading back to Bodil's side. Bodil was crying now, tears of distress streaming down his face as he began to sob. His eyes shot wide open, the usually bright-orange tint now darkened with pain, and stared at him with fear. His chest heaved sharply as he drew in deep, heavy gasps.

Seto took the needle before grabbing Bodil's left arm and holding it down, but Bodil started to struggle. "Bodil! Bodil, relax! It's me, I'm trying to help you!" Seto shouted.

"Aaah- Ah- Ah- Ah-!" Bodil groaned in agony, not heeding Seto's words as he kept writhing.

"Bodil, look at me!" Seto said. Bodil's dilated pupils locked onto Seto. "Bodil, it's going to be okay."

Bodil shook his head and kept sobbing in anguish.

Seto softened his voice. "Bodil, look at me."

Bodil whimpered as he obeyed again.

"This will make the pain go away, I promise. You'll be fine, you just need to calm down for me, okay?"

Bodil stopped struggling and relaxed slightly, although his arm still shook on its own accord. Seto found a prominent vein and carefully inserted the needle. Bodil whined with discomfort, his tawny eyes fixating on the needle with horrified fascination. Seto gently bandaged the needle in place and watched as the clear liquid dripped down the tube.

Bodil continued to gasp and whimper, mewling softly. Seto tossed the gloves in the trash before grabbing a chair and sitting beside him. He placed his hand on Bodil's forehead and began to lightly stroke it in an attempt to soothe the poor man. "Shhh... It's okay... The pain will go away soon... You're going to be okay..."

"Ah... Ah... Ash... Ash... Ash... ley..." Bodil uttered. Chills ran up and down Seto's spine. "Where... Ash... ley... Ashley... Where..."

For a few minutes, Bodil fretted and murmured incoherent phrases (mostly Ashley's name, but occasionally a few Bulgarian words interspersed too), shifting this way and that as he breathed sharply. Then, his movements gradually slowed down as his body relaxed. Bodil murmured Ashley's name once more, smiling blissfully as he closed his eyes. His breathing steadied as the anesthesia took effect.

Seto looked at Bodil, who appeared to be much more peaceful than before. Pity and shame washed over him with a pang as Seto realized the terrible things Bodil would learn once he woke up...

"...I'm sorry, Bodil," Seto whispered quietly, still rubbing his forehead with delicate fingers and brushing the dark, matted hair from the man's eyes. "I... I really am. It's all my fault... I could have stopped Ashley and prevented you from getting hurt like this... I could have protected Ryan and Husky so much better... I'm sorry... This is all my fault... Everything..."

Seto felt his e-Handbook vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and noticed that another rule had been added.

 **9\. Rule Number 3 may also be overruled for one person who may stay with a patient in the infirmary (at their own risk)**.

Seto stood up and checked the IV, making sure it was all in place, before reaching to turn off the lamp. However, that was when his fingers brushed by a certain piece of cloth. Seto drew his hand back as though he'd been shocked, a startled shriek escaping his throat.

Still slightly damp to the touch, a pair of red hair ribbons were lying on the table.

MonoWither was a sick triplet of individuals, it seemed. Bodil couldn't see this the moment he woke up. He would ask too many questions all too soon, and it would be far too painful for him to find out immediately after waking up...

Seto shoved the ribbons in his pocket before climbing onto the gurney next to Bodil's. He had a feeling that he could fall asleep much easier now...

But as Seto's eyes drifted shut, he also had a feeling that his dreams would be plagued with terrible nightmares, nightmares that were all too painfully real.

 **PART** **03** \- **AND WHEN I DREAM** **/ I'll dream of you all night**

**END**

**STILL** **ALIVE** : **11 - 3 = 8** **PARTICIPANTS**

**ITEM** **GET** **!** **You** **acquired** **the** **present** **"RED** **HAIR** **RIBBONS** **"**


	35. Deadly Claws

**PART 04- WATCH AND WAIT AND WORK / until it all falls down**

* * *

_"...There's a lot of people here..." Seto murmured,_ _glancing around him with apprehensive eyes._

_"_ _Yep, practically everyone's here for the New Year's Eve party!" Sky declared, dragging Seto across the grass._ _"Excuse us, coming through!" he called out as he made his way through the_ _crowd_. _It was a strangely warm winter that year, so there was no snow. Dozens of people were sitting on towels and chairs, chatting and gazing up at the starry night sky._

_"Hey, you made it!" a boy wearing a red-and-gray checkered hoodie_ _exclaimed, seeing them approaching._

_"Yeah, and I brought Seto!" Sky replied. Seto realized that there was a whole slew of people sitting there whom he didn't recognize._

_"...Hi..." Seto mumbled awkwardly._

_"Oh, is he the sorcerer you were talking about?" the boy asked. "Hi!" he said, waving his hand in a friendly greeting. "My name is Tyler Christie, and-"_

_"Tyler?!"_

_"Tyler Christie???!!!"_

_"Oh my god, there he is!!!"_

_Tyler's eyes widened in horror as he heard several girls (and maybe even one boy) squeal fanatically. "Um- Sorry- I gotta go-" Tyler quickly apologized before rushing to his feet and desperately fleeing through the crowd._ _A large horde of_ _fangirls_ _and fanboys trailed after him, shrieking and wailing for his autograph and a photo._

_A girl with long brown hair and dark eyeliner surrounding her green eyes rested her hands underneath her head and laid down on the towel. She chewed on a wad of bubblegum for a moment before blowing a large pink bubble and letting it pop. She sighed in exasperation. "You'd think a famous actor like him would learn not to say his last name out loud in public at this point..." She glanced at Seto. "Oh, my name's Annie. Pleased to meet you."_

_"Hi, I'm Bodil!" a boy wearing a suit and an orange tie exclaimed._ _"Ashley was here too, but she went to the bathroom. She should be back soon!"_

_Seto raised his hand and waved it a little before lowering it awkwardly._

_"I'm Bonks," a girl holding a pencil and a sketchbook said, smiling kindly at him. "Brice mentioned you before! I'm glad I finally got to meet you!"_

_Seto laughed and glanced away, for some reason unable to keep looking at her smile without flushing red. "Um- Yeah- So am I..."_

_He looked around._ _"Um... Is there going to be music playing?" Seto asked tentatively, looking at the stage they were all gathered in front of. There was a medium-sized DJ mixer sitting on the stage and someone was kneeling down and plugging a cord in its side. To Seto's surprise, he recognized the person as he stood up and brushed his hair from his eyes. "Is that Jason?"_

_"Hey, didn't you know that Jason's an electronic musician?" Sky replied. "Well, you did only meet him once before, so I guess not."_

_"...Oh..." Seto mumbled, slightly embarrassed._

_"Anyway, he and Husky are putting on this show for the party. Isn't it great? Jason was really excited that he got the gig, haha!"_

_"Who's Husky?" Seto asked._

_"Oh, Husky's this really smart guy. He crafted a bunch of special fireworks for the show! Here, I'll introduce you to him!"_

_Before Seto could react, Sky grabbed his arm and dragged him away. "See you guys in a little bit!"_

_"Bye!" Bodil called out, waving._

_"And you'd better save our spots!"_ _  
_

_"Sure," Annie deadpanned._

_Sky took Seto around the stage to the back where they saw two boys standing there, peering at the dirt._

_"This is going to look amazing!" Seto heard Jason exclaim, clapping his hands together._

_"I just hope I crafted them right..." the boy standing next to him muttered._

_"I'm sure you did, Husky!" Jason said reassuringly. "You always make the best fireworks!"_

_"Yo! Jason! Husky!" Sky called out._

_The two of them turned around at the sound of his voice._

_"Sky!" Jason shouted, running up to him. "Oh my god, I didn't realize you were here already!"_

_"Hey man, it's been awhile!" Husky exclaimed._

_"I know, right?" Sky said, laughing._

_Chills suddenly raced down Seto's spine as he_ _turned to the right, filled with the unexplainable feeling of being_ watched. _He scanned the nearby trees but couldn't see anyone..._

_"Anyway Husky, this is Seto!" Sky declared, grabbing his arm and startling Seto from his thoughts._

_"Nice to see you again," Jason remarked, flashing him a grin._

_"Seto, huh? I'm glad to meet you!" Husky said, clapping his hand on Seto's shoulder._

_Seto smiled, forcing himself to ignore his sudden paranoia. It was probably just his anxiety acting up again... "Glad to meet you too."_

_"So you're a sorcerer, huh? Got any tricks that could improve my handmade fireworks?"_ _Husky joked._

_Seto's face paled as his mind raced desperately for ideas. "F-Firework tricks? I- I'm sorry, I don't think I have anything for that, m-maybe I should quickly run home and find a book-"_

_"Woah, hey, I was just kidding, no need for magic," Husky said reassuringly._

_Seto sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. Besides, I've never even seen fireworks before."_

_There was silence._

_"You- You've never seen fireworks before?" Sky asked, almost horrified._

_"Um... no?" Seto replied, confused._

_"Where in the world have you been this whole time?" Jason demanded. "Have you been living underground or something?"_

_Seto's face paled. Had he somehow revealed his past with the Order by accident? "N-No! I've never lived underground at all, why do you ask-"_

_Husky chuckled. "Well, looks like you came to the right party, huh?"_

_"...What?"_

_"Trust me, you're gonna see these fireworks and you'll know just what you've missed up until now." He winked._

_Seto suddenly turned red with embarrassment. "Oh- Oh- Um- Well I know what they are- I've read about them before-"_

_"But you have to see them in person to really understand!" Sky pointed out._

_Seto was about to reply when he was once again filled with that same strange sensation of being watched... He whirled to the side, raising his arms instinctively, only to see two teenage boys emerge from the woods. They were both carrying boxes filled with redstone torches._

_"Finally you guys are back!" Jason said, grinning._

_"S-Sorry! It took awhile for us... to... carry all of these..." one of the boys said, placing down two crates and all but collapsing to the ground, trying to catch his breath. His red hat covered his dark-brown curly hair and he was wearing a red shirt with blue overalls._

_The other boy, who was sporting red sunglasses, put down four boxes with ease. "You okay there, Seth?" he asked._

_The rather heavyset boy nodded. "Y-Yeah, Jordan! I'm fine! I just- I just haven't exercised in awhile!"_

_Jordan chuckled. "Well while we wait for you to catch your breath..." He turned to Seto. "Hello, I don't think we've met before."_

_"H-Hi, I'm Seto," Seto said, shifting slightly._

_"Well I'm Jordan! And this is my friend, Seth!" Jordan gestured to the boy who was still crouched on the ground._

_"Hi!" Seth gasped out. "P-Pleased to meet you!"_

_"Today, Seth is here to help Husky set up his fireworks. But someday in the future, he'll make a machine that'll help millions of people!"_

_Seth's cheeks, which were already flushed with exertion, somehow managed to turn even redder than before. "Um- I don't know about that- I mean that is a dream of mine, but-"_

_"Anyway, I'm just here for moral support and a good time," Jordan said, grinning. "What about you?"_

_"...I'm, um... here to have a good time too... and see fireworks..."_

_"Great!"_

_Jason suddenly looked at his watch. "Oh man, the show's about to start! I gotta go, see you guys later!" He sped off towards the stage without waiting for a response._

_"I guess we should get back to our spots before someone takes them," Sky said, chuckling._

* * *

  _When they returned, Annie and Bonks were still there, Tyler had returned (the fans must have stopped giving chase), but Ashley was still nowhere to be seen. Bodil was also equally absent._

_"Where are Ashley and Bodil?" Sky asked, concerned._

_Tyler frowned. "For some reason, Ashley still isn't back from the restroom... Bodil went to go look for her..."_

_"Ashley's missing?" Jordan muttered. "That's strange... How long has she been gone?"_

_"At this point, it's been about half an hour..." Annie murmured._

_"It- It's really not like Ashley to run off like this..." Bonks whispered. "But it would also take a lot for someone to... Oh, what am I thinking, I'm just being paranoid..."_

_The crowd suddenly started cheering as Jason stepped onto the stage, wearing a large pair of white-and-blue headphones with yellow stars on both sides. "Thank you all for coming tonight!" Jason shouted in the microphone as he made his way to his DJ mixer. "Are you all excited for the new year?!!!"_

_The crowd cheered in response, and many people waved glow sticks in the air._

_"Well we've got about an hour left until we gotta kiss this year goodbye..." Jason blew a kiss to the crowd and several girls squealed. Jason laughed. "So until then... Let's GET SOME MUSIC PLAYING!!!"_ _Colored strobe lights flashed on the stage as_ _Jason slammed his hand on a button and moved a slider upwards, turning up the volume as one of his songs started playing._

_Seto decided that electronic music was a little too loud for his tastes, but judging by the audience's ecstatic response, Jason had quite some talent._

_Things seemed to be going perfectly fine when all of a sudden..._

_"B-Bodil?!" Bonks asked, springing to her feet. "What- What happened to you?!"_

_Bodil scrambled towards them, his clothes noticeably disheveled and his eyes bulging in terror._ _He would have collapsed if Annie hadn't caught him. The boy started mumbling something frantically, barely coherent through his hyperventilating._

_"English, Bodil, English!" Sky said urgently._

_Bodil kept murmuring in the same foreign language, not listening to the people around him._

_"Calm down so we can understand," Jordan said as gently as possibly._

_"Yeah, just breathe! Tell us what's wrong!" Tyler pleaded anxiously._

_"He's holding something in his hand," Seto realized._

_Bodil shakily raised his clenched fist. Everyone jolted when they saw that he was holding a red hair ribbon._

_"Ashley- Ashley- Ashley-" Bodil repeated, full-on panicking._

_"Bodil, you need to calm down so you can tell us what happened to Ashley," Annie said._

_Bodil swallowed and took several sharp breaths. "I... I went to the restrooms... but she wasn't there... I looked around... And then I found this lying in the woods nearby..."_

_Bonks started to panic as well. "Should- Should we call security-"_

_"No!" Seto interjected, a little louder than he should have. Quite a few people surrounding him turned to glare before looking back at the stage, but Seto didn't care. No, he had a horrible feeling that... that..._

_...Well, it was highly unlikely, but if they needed to they could call security later..._

_"Bodil, where did you find this?" Seto asked. "You have to show us!"_

_Bodil nodded, calming down slightly. "It... It was around here..."_

* * *

  _Seto formed a magical ball of light before_ _observing the small clearing a couple of yards behind the portable restrooms._

_"That's where I found it!" Bodil declared, pointing at a spot on the ground. "What- What do you think happened to her?!"_

_"I'm... not sure..." Jordan mumbled._

_Seto frowned,_ ___kne_ _ _ ___eling down and examining the dirt._ _ _ _"There was a struggle here."_

_"A- A struggle?!" Tyler asked, horrified. "From what?!"_

_"Was it- Was it a monster, somehow?!" Sky asked._

_Seto shook his head. "There are two sets of footprints besides Bodil's and body imprints all scattered about. Two people were fighting, hand-to-hand combat. Quite violently, I might add."_

_"Oh god no..." Bonks whispered, her hands flying to her mouth._

_"Ashley wears sneakers, correct?" Seto asked._

_Annie glanced at him suspiciously. "How the fuck did you know that, you've never even met her-"_

_"Unless Ashley wears large adult-sized boots, then she's the one who was wearing sneakers."_

_"Adult... sized... boots...?" Tyler whispered._

_"Kid-Kidnapped!" Bodil shrieked hysterically. "Someone kidnapped Ashley!!! What if they're hurting her, what if-"_

_"Bodil, please... calm down..." Jordan mumbled, although it looked like he was having trouble following the same advice._

_"Fuck- Fuck- What're we gonna do?!" Sky stammered, clutching his hair in horror._ _"She was gone for so long- They could have taken her anywhere by now!"_

_Seto noticed something glinting on the ground nearby and slowly crawled over to it, realizing that it was a glass shard. He examined it more closely and noticed the_ _Ender Dragon_ _emblem_ _printed on it..._

_Time seemed to slow down._

No... Why... Why did this have to happen...

_Seto stood up shakily, all of his worst fears confirmed. "All of you... All of you go get help," Seto whispered._

_"What?! What about you?!" Tyler demanded._

_Seto found a spot near the glass shards where the adult's footprints veered away into the woods, alone... "I'll go find Ashley."_

_"All by yourself?!" Bonks exclaimed._

_Seto closed his eyes and nodded._

_"Oh hell no you don't!" Sky shouted, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around. "Are you fucking crazy???!!! There's no way in hell I'm letting you go alone-"_

_"We don't have time for this!" Seto shrieked. "Every second counts here and Ashley is in serious danger!"_

_"Then why can't just one person get security while the rest of us go with you?!"_

_"You don't understand! It's going to be dangerous! And none of you have proper weapons!"_

_"I do," Annie muttered, pulling out her bow._

_"That wouldn't do anything against a powerful sorcerer!"_

_"P-Powerful sorcerer?" Bodil whispered. "Oh... Oh no... No no no..."_

_"But how do you know a sorcerer kidnapped her?" Tyler asked, bewildered._

_Seto pointed. "Potion bottle shards there, burn marks all over the place, it smells like magic too-"_

_"Well fuck that!" Sky yelled. "That just convinces me even more that you shouldn't go by yourself! I'm coming with you!"_

_"So am I!"  Annie declared, rage burning in her green eyes. "Ashley is my friend and I'm not going to sit back and let her get hurt by some creep!"_

_"I- I will go too!" Bodil piped up. "Even- Even though I'm not really that good at fighting- I know that Ashley would come to my rescue if I needed it!"_

_"If all of you are going, then I'm going too," Tyler said, although he looked quite afraid at the prospect._

_Jordan nodded. "And luckily I have extra redstone torches, perfect for leaving a trail..."_

_"I... I guess that means I'll go get security..." Bonks whispered. "All of you had better stay safe though..."_

_Seto tried to argue against everyone, but their determination, their hope to save their friend, silenced him. "Then... Then that's it then..."_

_They nodded in confidence._

_"...Come on, we don't have much time left..."_

_Bonks gave them one last look before she turned around and ran away. The rest of the group followed Seto's lead into the dark woods..._

* * *

  _Seto had briefly wondered if they would run into monsters, but he realized that he hadn't needed to worry. Whoever this sorcerer was, he had already eliminated quite a few hostile mobs, as seen by their motionless bodies lying on the ground. Disturbing as it was, at least it assured Seto that they were going in the right direction._

_Jordan shivered as he placed a torch on a nearby tree, the red light glowing ominously. "Steven wouldn't like this if he was here..."_

_"Yeah, it looks like the person just... attacked every moving thing in his path without a thought..." Tyler murmured, walking past a dead sheep._

_"If you want to turn back, do it now," Seto muttered._

_"Who said we're turning back?" Annie snapped. "This crazy, sadistic fucker has Ashley!"_

_"Exactly!" Bodil cried out._

_"Wait! Did you guys hear that?" Sky whispered._

_They all stopped and went silent. Voices could be heard in the distance..._

_"Let me go!" a girl shouted angrily. "What the hell do you want from me?!"_

_Bodil let out a terrified squeak. "Ashley..."_

_Seto slowly crept forward, making sure he was as soundless as possible. The rest followed right behind him. He could see the orange light of a campfire..._

_"Shut up!" a man ordered in reply. "Why the hell are you already awake?! The potion should have knocked you out for much longer!"_

_"Well that's your problem! What do you want from me?!"_

_The man chuckled darkly. "Your money, of course..."_

_"Well if you want my money, why the hell did you have to attack me and drag me into the middle of nowhere?! Are you planning to kill me?!"_

_"No, not... yet... You still have a few years..."_

_"Wh-What?! You're fucking crazy, you know that, right?!"_

_The man cackled_ _derangedly_ _. "Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! She thinks I'm_ _cra_ _-_ _azy_ _, just like everyone else in the Order did!"_

_Seto reached the edge of the clearing and hid behind a couple of bushes, peering above them. There was a fire in the center, over which a metal pot was boiling. There was a girl tied up to attention against a tree on the left side, the fire illuminating her face as she glared at someone on the other side. That someone was a man wearing the tattered remains of a black cloak with purple fringes..._

_"So anyway, I'm making another potion to knock you out and then I'll let you go!" the man declared._

_"Great," Ashley muttered, rolling her eyes. "More potions. Just. Wonderful. You know my friends should have realized I was gone for too long by now. The police will come."_

_"Well... If the police come... I guess I'll just have to take you with me, huh?"_

_Bodil started to whimper at that last response._

_Seto observed the man carefully. He was obviously a powerful sorcerer, judging by his connection to the Order. The Order didn't only have sorcerers as members, but all sorcerers of the Order had to be incredibly powerful. However, the man had referred to the Order in the past tense and his cloak was in disrepair... Perhaps they had deemed him too unstable and kicked him out. He was a rogue of the Order..._

_Sky tapped his shoulder._ What do we do? _he mouthed silently._

_Seto thought for a moment before turning to face the rest of the group. He pointed at Bodil and Tyler, the physically weakest of the group, before gesturing towards Ashley and motioning for them to wait for his command. He pulled out a pocketknife from his shoe (Tyler's eyes bulged when he did) and gave it to Bodil. They nodded and started heading their way towards her, circling around the clearing._

_Next, Seto looked at Sky and Jordan. Each of them could either be the one to warn the police or the one to scout for danger..._

_...But he didn't want Sky to be here..._

_He tried not to think about how personally biased he was being as he pointed at Sky and gestured towards the trail of redstone torches. Sky nodded and went back, creeping as silently as possible._

_Seto pointed at Jordan before motioning for him to stay where he was. He placed the side of his hand on his forehead and mimicked a scouting gesture. Jordan gave him a thumbs up and moved closer to the clearing._

_Seto pointed at Annie before beckoning her to follow him. They snuck further away from the clearing on the opposite side of the rogue, who was now tending to the fire and examining his makeshift brewing stand._

_"We need to make a distraction and get him out of there," Seto whispered when they were out of earshot._

_"Can't I just kill him?" Annie asked. "Or at least hit him in the leg?"_

_Seto shook his head. "It's too risky. He's a sorcerer, after all. If you only manage to injure him, he'll probably use his powers. We'd just put Ashley in greater danger."_

_Annie reluctantly agreed. "All right, so... I'll pretend to be a skeleton and he'll start attacking me... I'll draw him away from the clearing..."_

_Seto paused. "You sure you'll be safe? That sounds dangerous."_

_Annie spat out the wad of bubblegum and scoffed. "Okay, if you want to be that way, then tell me: Does it look like I give a shit?"_

_Seto told her that it didn't look like she gave a shit._

_Annie took out her bow and an arrow from her quiver. "All right, go do whatever you're planning to do."_

_Seto nodded and left, finding another place to examine the clearing without being spotted._

_The rogue stoked the flames with a branch. "Soon... Soon..." he crooned under his breath._

_Suddenly, an arrow shot by, missing the rogue by several feet. It got his attention, though. "WHO'S THERE???!!!" he screamed, jumping up._

_Seto cringed. No wonder the Order had kicked him out._

_Another arrow fired from the shadows, this time from a different location._

_"Stupid skeletons! Ugh..." The rogue whirled around and jabbed his finger in Ashley's direction. "You'd better stay put!"_

_"_ _Ahh_ _, yes, I'm definitely going somewhere in this ropes,_ _mm-hmm_ _..." Ashley drawled back._

_"Come here little skelly... ATTACK ME ONE MORE TIME, I DARE YOU!!!" The rogue charged blindly into the trees where Annie had been._

_Seto signaled for Bodil and Tyler, who nodded and emerged from the bushes behind Ashley._

_Ashley flinched before recognizing them. "Wh-What the hell are you guys doing here?! Are you crazy?!" she exclaimed in a hushed voice as they started cutting through her bonds._

_Seto then glanced at Jordan, who gave him another thumbs up. Seto nodded and went back to where the rogue had gone, hoping that Annie was doing fine..._

_Right when he thought that, he heard something that sent chills racing up and down his spine._

_"So you aren't a little skelly, you're just a naughty, naughty little girl!" the rogue declared. Seto could see that his magic ball of light was a sickly tinge of yellow._

_"Well this 'naughty little girl' doesn't like it when someone kidnaps their best friend!" Annie retorted._

_"OW!" the rogue shouted as the sound of a hard object hitting flesh rang out. "Stop throwing rocks! OR_ _I'LL_ _MAKE YOU STOP!!!"_

_There was a loud explosion as the rogue hurled a magic spell in Annie's direction. Annie let out a shriek and then there was silence..._

_Seto burst forward, holding his own purple light. "STOP!!!" he shouted._

_The rogue whirled around, allowing Seto to see his face clearly for the first time. Seto's face paled, but it was nothing compared to the rogue's deathly pallid look. The shaggy-haired rogue hadn't shaved in a very long time, his skin was covered in sweat and grime, and there was a bleeding cut on his cheek from Annie's rock._

_Annie was hunched on the ground, breathing heavily. It looked like she had barely managed to dive out of the way. Unfortunately, she had run out of arrows._

_"Annie, go help them get Ashley out!" Seto shouted._

_Annie looked like she was about to argue but changed her mind at the last second as she fled the scene._

_The rogue didn't say anything. He just stared at Seto, his mouth in a perfect O-shape._

_Seto moved into a defensive stance. "Don't you dare attack me, or I'll-"_

_"M... Master..." the rogue whispered in disbelief._

_Seto's eyes widened. "...What?"_

_The rogue slowly stepped towards him._

_"St-Stay back!" Seto ordered, moving away._

_To his surprise, he obeyed. "M-Master... It's you... It's really you..."_

_"What are you talking about?!"_

_The rogue started laughing madly, tears streaming down his face as he grinned crookedly. "I knew you'd come back for me... M-Master Hennessy..."_

_Seto felt all of the blood drain from his body. His heartbeat pounded in his chest as he breathed shakily._

_The rogue started walking towards him again, reaching out his arms._

Run.

_Seto couldn't. His feet wouldn't move._

_The rogue was only a few feet away. Seto opened his mouth to tell him to stop, but h_ _is mouth was too dry._

Run!

_He couldn't. His legs trembled like fragile leaves in the wind, but he still couldn't._

RUN!!!

_The rogue stopped a few inches away from him and sank to his knees, clasping his hands together reverently. "Master..._ _Jay... Master Jay Hennessy... I still recognize you, even after all these years..." He chuckled. "You do look a little younger though... But I recognize you..."_

_Seto tried to speak. "I... I'm not-"_

_"I know I made you unhappy all those years ago, but I've done so much for you even when I was kicked out! You've received my messages, haven't you? You've taken care of the people I've captured for you, haven't you? I even captured a little girl for you just now, you saw her, right? Here, I'll show you-"_

_"N-No!" Seto stammered. "You can't- You can't take her!"_

_The rogue's face fell. "Why not, Master Hennessy? Is she not up to your standards?"_

_"Um- Um- Don't question your master!" Seto blurted out._

_"Yes- Yes of course!" the rogue babbled. "My dearest apologies! I- I hope you aren't too displeased..."_

_"Don't worry," Seto replied. "Just... listen to me."_

_The rogue gazed up at him, grinning nervously. "I await your command, Master Hennessy..."_

_"The police will be here soon," Seto murmured. "When that happens, I want you to give up yourself. Peacefully."_

_"You want me to get arrested?" the rogue asked, confused._

_"Don't question your master!" Seto repeated. "It's all part of the plan!"_

_"Of- Of course, Master Hennessy!" the rogue stammered. "Yes- Yes, I'll give myself up... But what about you?"_

_"The police do not suspect me. Don't worry about me."_

_The rogue paused, a dark look crossing his face. "Are you... tricking me?"_

_"What?!" Seto asked, forcing himself not to waver as he struggled to act more like Master Hennessy. "Tricking you?! I am your master, how dare question me-"_

_"You... You want to get rid of me again, do you?"_

_Seto shook his head. "No, that isn't it-"_

_Without warning, the rogue pinned Seto against a tree, grabbed his throat with his hands, and squeezed tightly. Seto gagged as his hands flew to his neck, struggling to release the rogue's grip. "After everything I've done for you, you still don't want me?!_ _"_

_"No- No that- That's not-"_

_"You still think I'm worthless?! You still think you can just toss me away?! Like I'm_ nothing _?!_   

_Seto's mind was racing desperately. He couldn't seem to form any spells. His vision was blurring at the edges, filled only with the rogue's furious expression. His lungs felt like they were about to burst, he needed air so badly..._

_Something in his chest started to burn._

_"Let... go... please..." Seto gasped, tears streaming down his face. "Please..."_

_"Oh, now you want to beg, huh? Now you want mercy? When you're at your weakest? WELL IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT!!!"  
_

_The burning sensation started to spread all over his body._

_"I DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU!!! FOR THE ORDER!!! AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME???!!!"_  

 _Seto shut his eyes tightly and_ **screamed** _as a magnificent blast of energy blew the rogue away from him. His entire body shook as he collapsed to the ground on all fours, a monstrous howl escaping his lips as his fingernails that were digging into the dirt shifted into razor-sharp claws..._

_The last thing he remembered was standing up, spreading his wings, and staring down at the rogue with cold, purple slits for eyes. Then he roared, brought his claws down, and everything went blood-red._

* * *

 Someone was shaking him violently.

_SETO! SETO!!! WAKE UP!!!_

Seto's eyes shot open as he screamed and instinctively reached for whoever was shaking him, gripping their arms and wrenching them away from his body. His assailant squealed in pain, attempting to escape Seto's iron grasp. "S-Seto! Stop! Stop!!! It- It hurts! Stop! Seto!"

It was only when he saw Dave rush over that Seto realized he was almost crushing Steven's arms in his hands. Seto immediately let go and Steven staggered backwards, clutching his bruised arms and whimpering. Dave, visibly distressed, examined the bruises and growled slightly.

Seto's eyes widened as he practically flew off the bed. "S-Steven?" he whispered, horrified. "Oh- Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I-"

"It's okay," Steven mumbled.

"Shit, I hope I didn't hurt you that badly-" Seto stammered, reaching for Steven's arms. "Here, let me help-"

Steven drew back quickly. "I'm fine, I'm fine, honest. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You were having a really bad nightmare, after all..."

Seto's face burned with mortification. "It- It was nothing."

"It didn't sound like it was nothing, you were saying strange things about-"

"Please, I just... I don't want to talk about it..." Seto trailed off.

For a few seconds, Steven gave him a strange look that Seto couldn't discern before relenting. "If you say so..."

Dave started tapping on Steven's shoulder, but Steven shook his head. "No, no, I shouldn't bother him..." he mumbled.

Seto stared at him curiously. "What did he say?"

Steven glanced around, biting his lip nervously. "M-Maybe I'm just being super paranoid for no good reason, but..." He swallowed. "Bart likes going out and doing his own thing at night, but he's usually not gone for this long..."

"What time is it?"

"It- It's almost 6... and he left at 12..." Steven whispered, twiddling his fingers. "If... If you don't mind, could you help me look for him? Of- Of course, you can go back to sleep if you want, I don't-"

"It's fine. I'll help you," Seto replied.

Steven gave him a shaky smile. "Thanks..."

"I need to check on Bodil first, though," Seto said, making his way to the man's gurney.

"...Is that why you were sleeping in here?" Steven asked in realization.

Seto nodded. "Can't trust MonoWither to take care of him properly, can we?"

"No, of course not," Steven replied, turning to face Bodil. He cringed when he saw Bodil's state. "Will he be okay?"

Seto nodded again as he checked the casts on his legs. "It'll be awhile before he can walk again, but with enough rest and healing potions he'll be fine."

Steven sighed in relief. "I'm glad to hear that. Although, when he wakes up, he'll realize that..." A horrified expression crossed his face as he turned away. "N-Never mind..."

"...At least he isn't dead," Seto murmured. "That's the most important part."

"Y- Yeah, you're right..." Steven murmured in reply.

Seto stepped back, satisfied with Bodil's condition for the moment. "So did you already check the first floor?"

Steven nodded. "He wasn't there, though... Which worries me..."

"I see," Seto replied. "Then if he's not on this floor, he's probably on the third floor..."

* * *

 As they walked up the stairs to the third floor, they gradually heard the strange, familiar sound of...

"...Violins?" Seto asked, confused.

Dave glanced sharply at Steven, whose face paled. "That tune... 'From the Ground Up'... That's him for sure..." he whispered.

"Really?" Seto asked, surprised. "He plays pretty well, I thought that was a music recording."

Steven laughed, but there was a tinge of nervousness to it. "Y-Yeah..."

"...Is everything all right?"

Steven looked at Dave before turning back. "I'm worried about Bart..."

"Why? Didn't you say that was him?"

Before Steven could respond, the music stopped abruptly, giving way to repeated smashing sounds and loud, angry snarls.

"Bart!" Steven cried out as he and Dave promptly shot up the stairs, racing to the music room. Seto was right on their tail, totally clueless.

When he reached the music room, he first saw Bart standing in the center. He was hunched over, clutching the neck of a violin; or rather, the neck of what had once been a violin. The rest of the violin was now a heap of shattered, splintered wooden remains scattered all over the floor.

Bart growled, trembling as he stood there. Steven swallowed nervously. "B-Bart?"

Bart whirled around to face them, his purple irises dilated. The Enderman started to shake violently as he bared his fangs, snarling viciously. Steven's eyes widened. "Bart? Wh-What's wrong?" Bart didn't reply as he stalked towards them, growling as he spread his clawed fingers, dropping the violin neck. "Bart? Bart! Stop! Stop!" Steven cried out desperately, his whole body trembling as he fought the overwhelming urge to run away. "Please, just tell me what's wrong!!!"

Without responding, Bart immediately teleported in front of Steven and raised his clawed hand, emitting an ear-splitting shriek as he swung his arm down.

Purple sparks filled the air as Seto shoved Steven out of the way, forming a forcefield that Bart's claws raked down on. Had Steven still been standing there... Seto shuddered at the mental image.

"S-Seto! Wait!" Steven shouted from the floor. "You- You don't understand-"

"Get out of here, now!" Seto ordered, side-stepping Bart's clawed swipe.

"No! Stop fighting him!" Steven cried out. "You're going to hurt him!!! Stop!"

Seto didn't even have the time to remind him that Bart had attacked him first, so instead he focused on diverting Bart's attention away from Steven. He didn't know why Bart had snapped all of a sudden and he didn't have the time to figure it out...

Bart teleported over to him and snarled, slashing at him with his claws once again. It took all of Seto's reflexes to magically shield himself once more and a high-pitched scraping sound filled the air. Seto pushed the shield forward, knocking Bart backwards, before running away. He could hear Steven screaming hysterically for him to stop. Somewhere in the back of Seto's mind, he knew that he should probably listen to Steven, but Seto just couldn't stand the possibility of watching anyone else getting hurt. 

No, he couldn't let _anyone else_ suffer... Not anymore...

Bart, who was blindly consumed with bloodlust, chased after him by teleporting repeatedly in Seto's path, forcing him to dodge every time. The Enderman seemed to have forgotten about Steven completely and was now focused entirely on Seto. Seto ignored all of the terror in his mind screaming at him to just end things right on the spot and kill Bart. He briefly considered using his Enderman intimidation technique, but Bart seemed too enraged for it to work...

Suddenly Bart caught Seto off guard and swung a large chair, knocking all the wind out of him. Seto had no time to react before Bart picked him up and hurled him into the wall. The sorcerer collapsed to the ground with a pained shout. He looked up and saw Bart screeching at him with bared fangs, purple particles swirling madly in the air as he lunged at Seto.

 _"STOP!!!"_ Steven shouted at the top of his lungs, leaping in front of Seto with widespread arms.

To Seto's surprise, Bart actually came to a halt, although he still emitted a deafening, primal snarl at Steven that lasted a few seconds. Steven's entire body trembled with fear, but he stood his ground.

"S... Steven, no..." Seto struggled to get up but found himself pinned down by none other than Dave. Dave stared at him and placed a finger over his mouth, shushing him.

"Bart! It's me, Steven! Steven! Remember?!" Steven cried out.

Bart continued to bristle with anger and growled again.

"C-Come on, Bart! I know you're still in there! I know you remember me! I know you remember Dave!" Steven smiled tearfully, placing his hands over his heart. "We're your friends, remember? Your best friends?"

Bart stopped shaking and quieted down somewhat, his growls reducing to subdued hisses.

"Remember how we first met?" Steven asked before laughing softly, filled with bittersweet nostalgia. "I... I honestly thought you and Dave were going to kill each other... He- He wouldn't turn down the volume for his game and you almost snapped, remember?" Steven laughed again.

Bart didn't reply, but he didn't react violently either.

"But even still, it was us against the whole world. We promised to stay together forever, no matter what, all those years ago. We've all kept that promise, even after all we've been through. We've always stuck together, haven't we? We're still here, and we're not giving up on you..."

Bart hissed as Steven reached out his left hand. "C-Come on, Bart... I know you aren't a monster... I know you don't want to hurt anyone... I'd trust the Bart I know with my life... This isn't you..." Steven whispered, gradually approaching him inch by inch.

Bart went still, continuing to stare at Steven with dilated pupils. He let out a small, threatening growl as Steven stopped a few inches in front of him, but it sounded weak and confused. "Everything's okay, Bart," Steven said gently. "I'm not going to hurt you. You're not going to hurt anyone. Not anymore."

Bart didn't respond.

Steven slowly spread his arms and leaned forward, hugging Bart's midsection and burying his face in the Enderman's suit.

Bart trembled violently again, screeching. Seto, terrified that Bart had snapped again, tried leaping to his feet but was stopped once more by Dave.

"It's okay, Bart," Steven murmured, patting Bart's back. "We're here for you... It's okay..."

Bart stilled once more and shut his eyes tightly for a long while. When he finally opened them, his pupils had returned to normal.

Dave let go of Seto, who stood up shakily. The zombie ran to the two and tried to join the hug, but Bart screeched indignantly at him and shoved him away. Dave crossed his arms in front of his chest and stuck his tongue out mischievously. Bart glared back at him. 

Steven let go of Bart and laughed. " _That's_ the Bart I know..." he joked.

Seto slowly walked over to them, unsure of what to do. Bart saw him approach and flinched, taking a few steps back.

Steven's face paled. "S-Seto... I'm sorry, he- he didn't mean to hurt you-"

"It's okay," Seto murmured. "I understand."

"Are you hurt really badly?" Steven asked fretfully.

If he was honest, Seto's body ached all over after having been hit by a chair and thrown against the wall like a chew toy, but he had a feeling that Bart was already feeling remorse. Besides, Steven had forgiven him for bruising his arms. "No, I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about."

"C-Crap, I- I knew I shouldn't have asked you to come-"

"It's fine, Steven," Seto said, smiling slightly. "I'm just glad that everything turned out okay. Right?"

Bart glanced away, unable to meet Seto's eyes. Dave saw this and grinned cheekily, reaching up and grabbing the Enderman's bowtie before running away. Bart screamed and chased after the zombie, probably cursing in whatever language Endermen spoke.

Steven laughed as he watched them. "Yeah, you're right. Everything turned out okay..." A dark look suddenly crossed his face as his eyes glazed over. "At least... at least for now..." Steven fell silent, lost in thought as he watched his two best friends.

Seto had a feeling that the events of last night were still looming over them. How could they not? He himself was reeling from all of the horrible events that had occurred just hours ago... Of course the trial had hit Steven and Bart of all people especially hard...

"So..." Seto mumbled, trying to think of something that would make Steven feel better. "I... I've always wondered..."

"Wondered what?" Steven asked, turning to him curiously.

"I've always wondered how you three met..."

Steven paused before looking away. His body started to tremble and he clamped a hand in front of his mouth, barely concealing his muffled sounds.

Seto's eyes widened. "S-Steven? Are you- Are you crying?"

Bart and Dave stopped chasing each other and stopped, staring at Steven in horror. 

Seto started to panic. "Sh-Shit! I- I didn't mean to- Fuck, I thought- I'm sorry, I-"

To everyone's surprise, Steven burst into loud peals of laughter. "No- No I'm not- I'm not crying because I'm sad, I just-" Steven struggled to catch his breath, wiping tears from his eyes. "I was just thinking about how we met- It was- Oh my god-" Steven continued laughing like it was the funniest thing in the whole world, hunching over and wheezing. 

At first Seto was concerned, but then he realized that in this messed up situation, there were few things to truly laugh about anymore...

"S-Sorry- I don't know what came over me, I just-" Steven released a long sigh as he composed himself. "Anyway, it's a long, long story, I couldn't possibly have the time to tell you..."

"...Oh..." Seto mumbled in reply.

"Yeah... A long, long story..." Steven murmured thoughtfully, closing his eyes.

 _...That was exactly what he told Husky, wasn't it?_ Seto thought.

**DING DONG, DING DONG**

**Good morning, bastards! It's 7 in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to have fun and entertain the audience today!**

"We should get back," Seto said after a moment. "I don't trust leaving Bodil alone for too long."

Steven nodded. "Yeah, you're right..." He walked over to Bart and Dave and stood between them, beaming with joy as he affectionately linked arms with them. Bart, who was to Steven's left, rolled his eyes in exasperation but didn't remove his arm. Dave, who was to Steven's right, pulled out his Gameboy with his free hand and started tapping at the buttons. 

"Come on guys, let's go..."

Seto watched them leave the music room, never letting go of each other.

_...It's a long story, huh?_


	36. Never Forgive, Never Forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I've said before, I have college applications to work on, so updates will be slow. Please be patient.

**_Previously..._ **

_"We should get back," Seto said after a moment. "I don't trust leaving Bodil alone for too long."_

_Steven nodded. "Yeah, you're right..." He walked over to Bart and Dave and stood between them, beaming with joy as he affectionately linked arms with them. Bart, who was to Steven's left, rolled his eyes in exasperation but didn't remove his arm. Dave, who was to Steven's right, pulled out his Gameboy with his free hand and started tapping at the buttons._

_"Come on guys, let's go..."_

_Seto watched them leave the music room, never letting go of each other._

...It's a long story, huh?

* * *

They were about to walk down the stairs when Seto suddenly stopped in his tracks, an idea entering his mind. "Wait a minute..."

Steven stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"

"...The fourth floor should be open now, right?" Seto asked.

Steven frowned as he let go of Bart and Dave and examined the next flight of stairs, which were still closed off with a metal gate. "Hmm... Maybe MonoWither just didn't open it yet..."

_"Upupupu! Is that what you think?"_

Everyone flinched as they whirled to face the machine that had spontaneously appeared.

"Good morning, young gentlemen! Looks like some people are super excited to start the day after a thrilling trial!"

Seto gritted his teeth and glared at them, not saying anything.

MonoWither cackled and hovered close to Steven, prompting Bart and Dave to step forward protectively. "Well, Steven, we must thank your Enderman pal for providing a little wild fiasco! Our hearts were racing when we saw that primal, instinctive, _monstrous_ side of your companion reveal itself in its full glory!"

Bart's eyes started to dilate again as he snarled, shaking to the core. Steven's eyes widened as he grabbed Bart's arm. "Bart! Don't listen to them! It's not true!"

"Still in denial, Steven? You were almost on the receiving end of your so-called 'friend's' rage, weren't you? And we're positive that it hasn't been the first time!"

"Be quiet!" Steven shouted, hugging Bart tightly. "Bart- Bart was just stressed! Everyone has breakdowns, he's no different! He didn't even hurt anyone!"

"Oy vey... That denial of yours runs strong, doesn't it? Just because he didn't hurt anyone this time doesn't mean it didn't happen before!"

"Shut up!"

Bart hissed as he hunched over, clenching and unclenching his clawed hands.

Steven stared deeply into Bart's eyes as he gripped his wrists. "Bart, listen to me! They're lying! You never meant to hurt anyone!"

Bart shut his eyes tightly and howled in anguish.

"Please! I'm telling you, you're not a monster-"

Steven suddenly found himself grasping empty space as Bart teleported away. The Enderman quivered for a moment before continuing to teleport down the stairs. Dave promptly chased after him as fast as his zombie legs could take him.

"No, wait! Wait! Don't leave me!" Steven cried out, running towards them, but that was when MonoWither teleported in front of him and blocked his path.

"Remember what we told you, Steven?" MonoWither asked in a low, deadly voice. "Or have you somehow forgotten?"

Steven's face was devoid of all color as his eyes widened. He opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but he couldn't seem to get the words out.

"Oh? Cat got your tongue? Can't act so confidently anymore, now that your little friends aren't here with you? Afraid that once they leave your side, you'll be all alone again?"

Steven started to shake as his eyes darted to the bottom of the stairs where his friends had gone.

MonoWither scoffed. "Heh! Pathetic. We expected no less from someone as weak as you!"

"MonoWither..." Seto growled, stepping forward.

"We just want to remind you, Steven, since it seems that you let it slip from your mind... If you don't keep your monster friends in line, we'll be forced to take _drastic_ measures..." MonoWither laughed. "Believe us, Steven... If you value them so much, you'd better do as we say... You wouldn't want your friends to suffer because of your lack of responsibility, right? What would you ever do if you ended up all alone? As alone as you are now? As alone as you were way back then!"

Steven drew in deep, shuddering gasps for air, his eyes still fixated on the staircase as though he had seen a ghost.

"MonoWither! You'd better leave him alone!" Seto warned, to no success.

"Do you understand, Steven?" The puppetmaster's toxic words hung in the air. "If you're smart, you won't let them get into trouble with us... You know exactly what we're capable of..."

Steven whimpered as he wrung his hands mindlessly. He was completely overwhelmed with panic, he couldn't speak, couldn't move, almost couldn't breathe...

That was when Dave returned.

"D-Dave-!" Steven choked out, gasping in pure relief at the sight of the zombie. He staggered forward and wrapped his arms tightly around him, clinging onto him as though he would disappear at any moment. "Dave- You- You came back- You came back..." Steven burst into anguished sobs as he buried his head in Dave's shoulder.

Dave nodded in acknowledgment, flashed MonoWither a deadly glare, before grabbing Steven's arm and pulling him down the stairs.

MonoWither watched them go, giggling quietly.

Seto stared at MonoWither silently before finally speaking. "What was that all about?" he asked suspiciously.

MonoWither turned around. "What, aren't you grateful?" they asked, confused.

"Why would I be _grateful_?"

"Well Bart almost killed you! Don't you think Steven was being so careless when he let Bart go off on his own like that?"

"...I think Bart can take care of himself. Besides, I would have been fine."

"Really now? Honestly, the only reason you survived for that long was because you had magic. What if Bart snaps again and someone else becomes the unlucky victim of his rage? Like Tyler, for instance? Tyler doesn't exactly have the means of defending himself from an enraged Enderman, does he? No, he's totally vulnerable! The perfect target for a future murder!"

Seto shivered for a moment before hardening his gaze. "That's irrelevant."

"We hardly think so! After all, only eight of you guys are left, so the end of this show is imminent! Therefore, all deaths for this show should be reserved for murders and executions, and nothing else!"

"How is this game going to end if no one murders anyone without getting caught? What if in the end we're left with too few people to have a proper show trial, huh?"

"As the hosts of this show, we have our own plan if that happens, and it's none of your business since it's forbidden, spoiler-filled territory! Now stop asking these questions and scram!"

Seto stayed put.

"Ugh, what else do you want? Listen, the fourth floor isn't open because it's off-limits! There's nothing show-worthy about it! Aren't the first three floors enough for you?" MonoWither scoffed. "Geez, there's no satisfying some people... Now go away!"

"...You're a member of the Order, aren't you?" Seto asked suddenly.

MonoWither's grins disappeared for a moment before reappearing. "What makes you say that?" they asked, tilting their heads curiously.

"...Three of us were connected to the Order in some way and you somehow knew all about it..." Seto stared into the distance pensively. "I thought... I thought it was just a coincidence when Mitch revealed his secret... But when Ashley revealed hers as well, my suspicions grew bigger... The fact that you knew what all three of our worst secrets were has to mean something, doesn't it? You must be part of the Order, that's the only logical conclusion. You're doing some fucked-up experiment like you people always do, and after what I, no, what _Slotty_ did, you're probably trying to get your revenge at the same time by killing off my friends, one by one..."

MonoWither's fangs glinted in the light. "Interesting theory... Very clever, we must say... That protagonist side of you is shining brightly! But we're afraid that there's just one problem with your hypothesis..."

The machine hovered a few inches in front of Seto, their red eyes gleaming.

_**"We can't be part of something that doesn't exist anymore, can we?"** _

Seto's eyes widened in confusion. "Wh- What do you mean-? What-? Doesn't exist anymore-?"

But MonoWither was already gone, leaving only more questions unanswered.

Seto stared at the empty space in front of him, cast one last skeptical glance at the gate, before heading back to the second floor.

* * *

Seto opened the door to the infirmary and saw Annie and Bonks sitting beside Bodil. Annie's arms were crossed over her chest as she stared emptily at the unconscious man. She didn't look up when Seto entered, but Bonks did.

"Seto?" she said, rising to her feet and clasping her hands. "Um- I don't know anything about healing, but-"

"Is Bodil all right?" Seto asked.

"Well we're no experts..." Annie muttered. "I think he looks fine, to be honest, but we're not sure."

Bonks stared down at Bodil, biting her lip. "MonoWither wasn't answering us, and we have no idea if we have to do anything..."

Seto glanced at Bodil before his eyes widened. "Wh-Who removed his IV drip?"

"What do you mean?!" Bonks stammered.

Seto looked around wildly. "I- I gave him anesthesia last night, the IV pole and everything was still here this morning, where did it all go?"

Bonks started to panic. "I- I swear we didn't do anything-"

"It must have been MonoWither," Annie replied, her green eyes flashing coldly.

"...MonoWither...?" Seto asked.

"We were only allowed in here a few minutes ago since MonoWither was outside preventing us from entering the infirmary."

"They said that they needed to give Bodil some last minute treatment..." Bonks mumbled.

Seto thought back. MonoWither could have given Bodil their "last minute treatment" when he and Steven had gone to look for Bart...

"At least... At least they said that he's expected to wake up very soon..." Bonks mumbled. "That's good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I'm just not sure if they did something messed up to Bodil," Annie remarked.

Bonks winced. "Do you really think they'd go that far?"

"I wouldn't put it past them..."

"I'll take a look," Seto mumbled.

He bent over and carefully examined Bodil by checking his casts, arm sling, and bandages, the last of which had been recently changed (by MonoWither most likely). Seto had a feeling that MonoWither had given him some opiates, judging by Bodil's peaceful expression, which would explain why the IV drip was gone. Bodil's breathing was evenly paced. After a few minutes, Seto concluded that MonoWither hadn't done anything particularly suspicious. Everything appeared to be in order, the healing potions were working, and it seemed like Bodil would indeed wake up shortly.

"I don't think we need to worry about MonoWither doing anything to Bodil..." he said finally, standing up. "But someone should still watch over him just in case."

"I think I can do that..." Bonks murmured, staring at Bodil mournfully. "It's the least I could do to help..."

Seto nodded. "Tell us immediately if anything happens to him."

"I will..."

"I'll trust you with it, then. I'm going to the cafeteria," Seto said before leaving the two. However, as he left the infirmary, he noticed that he wasn't alone.

Annie had left Bonks and was now following him.

Seto gave her a quizzical look, to which she snapped, "What, am I not allowed to go to the cafeteria either?"

Seto immediately turned around and walked up the steps back to the third floor. Sure enough, Annie followed, but wisely kept her distance. "I thought you said you were going to the cafeteria," she remarked suspiciously.

"I could have sworn you said the same thing," Seto replied tactfully.

"I know what I said."

"Then why are you following me?"

Annie's voice lowered threateningly. "You know full well why."

Seto reached the third floor and stood in front of the entrance to the fourth floor. He peered through the bars with an unreadable expression. He could see the bottom of another staircase leading up into mysterious shadows.

"What are you doing?" Annie snapped.

"MonoWither usually opens a new floor at this time, right?"

"Well I guess, but why does it matter?"

"MonoWither said that they won't open this floor to us. They said, and I quote, that 'there's nothing show-worthy about it.'"

Annie's face changed to one of curiosity. "...Interesting..."

Seto turned to look at her. "What do you think they meant by that?"

"...Seems like they're hiding something if you ask me. But since when was that new?"

Seto pressed his lips together, thinking carefully. "Remember when we were in the elevator shaft and I threw that ball of light?"

"Yeah... I remember that..." Annie said, gazing down at the floor sadly. Neither of them mentioned it, but they both knew that the one other person who had been with them then was now gone forever...

"We said that there were five floors, right?" Seto continued.

Annie nodded. "That's what we saw."

"So I guess that means that the puppetmaster behind this is hiding stuff in both the fourth floor and the fifth floor."

"Then the upper floors must contain important information... Information that could help us get out of here... How would we get up there without being spotted though?" Realization flashed across her face. "There's the passageway, right-?"

" _No._ " Seto cast a warning glance at the security camera nearby. "That's completely out of the question. MonoWither explicitly banned us from using it. If we got caught, it wouldn't be good for us."

Annie noticed his glance growled. "Dammit, you're right...

"If only they weren't keeping such a close eye on us."

Annie looked at him skeptically. "So why'd you lead me here anyway?"

"I just wanted to chat," Seto said casually, stepping closer to Annie. Making sure that the camera couldn't see what he was doing from the angle, Seto used Annie as a shield as he subtly reached into his pocket. Annie flinched at his action and almost bolted away until she saw him pull out a harmless WitherCoin.

"I just think that if we could put aside our suspicions and cooperate, we could still have a chance of escaping." With his final words, Seto used his magic to send the coin whizzing through the bars. The coin hadn't even reached the stairs when it suddenly collided with something in midair. A sizzling sound filled the air as the staircase that they saw right in front of them appeared to "glitch out" like a broken computer screen. It only lasted for a moment before everything returned to normal as the coin fell to the floor.

Annie's green eyes widened as her jaw dropped.

Seto retrieved the coin with his magic, unsure of what he had just witnessed, but already thinking of a few explanations. "I think we should keep this discussion between us."

Annie snapped back to the present, shaken from her thoughts. She turned to him, still looking doubtful, but nodded. "All right. But I'm still watching you to make sure you don't do anything fishy."

"...If it makes you feel better," Seto replied sadly before heading back down the steps.

* * *

As the two of them approached the cafeteria, they suddenly heard loud yelling.

"Jason, stop it!" Tyler's voice shouted.

"Why the fuck aren't you guys listening to me?!" Jason's voice shrieked.

"Jason, calm down and just listen to us!" Jordan said, his voice raised.

"No, _you_ listen to me!"

"Please, stop fighting!" Steven's voice piped up waveringly. "There's no need to fight!"

"No Steven, you don't understand! Just stay out of it!" Jason snapped back.

Seto and Annie rushed in to see the four men crowded in front of the memorial table. Bart and Dave were also there, surprisingly.

Jason turned to face the two newcomers, his blue eyes darkened with rage. "I'm sure that _Seto_ would agree with me..."

"Agree with you on what?" Seto asked hesitantly.

"Jason, stop it," Annie said dangerously. "We just went over this. This is a memorial for all of the friends we lost. Therefore, Ashley deserves to have a place here."

"No she doesn't!" Jason retorted. "She's a cold-blooded murderer who was only looking out for herself!"

"Jason, I know you're grieving. We all are. But having all this anger directed towards Ashley is not good for you!" Tyler shouted.

"I'm not talking to you!" Jason snapped. "Besides, I fail to see how I'm being harmed by 'having all this anger!' Weren't you the person who kept saying that it was bad to bottle up emotions?!"

Seto glanced at the memorial and noticed three new additions. There was one for Ryan, which depicted him happily acting as the warden in his Cops N' Robbers show. There was another one for Husky, who was gazing up at fireworks shooting across the sky. And then...

"Bonks made this one for Ashley!" Jason shouted, grabbing one of the picture frames and shoving it in Seto's face. "Look at it!"

It was a beautiful drawing of Ashley standing on a stage, a blissful expression on her face as she appeared to be singing.

"Jason, you know she was desperate!" Tyler tried to argue. "If it wasn't for MonoWither, she wouldn't have-"

"She's still the one who's responsible!" Jason countered. "MonoWither wasn't threatening her. It wasn't an accident either. She just saw her chance and took it herself willingly! She killed Husky and almost killed Bodil too!"

"In case you've forgotten, she was _dying from cancer_ of all things," Annie reminded in a low voice.

"That doesn't give her the right to take someone else's life, does it?! Of course it doesn't! It's just an excuse, and this thing Bonks drew for her shouldn't be here! Don't you think, Seto?"

"...Um..." Seto looked around helplessly, unsure how to answer without further igniting Jason's anger.

"W-Well, Bonks was the one who made this memorial, right?" Steven reminded them. "I think that she's the only one who can decide who belongs here..."

Jason scoffed. "We all know Bonks would feel too guilty to leave anyone out. But I don't! I know exactly what she did! You all know too, you just don't want to admit it!"

"Jason, there's no use in arguing like this," Jordan murmured. "We're only causing more unnecessary conflicts amongst ourselves."

" _Unnecessary_?" Jason balled his hands into fists. "How can you call this unnecessary?!"

"Would _Husky_ find it necessary?" Seto cut in.

Jason recoiled as though he had been struck by lightning. "Wh-What?"

"Husky wanted us to live together in peace and harmony. Didn't he? He risked his life in an attempt to save Ryan, right?"

A heartbroken expression crossed Jason's face before he glared again, his voice trembling with emotion. "Oh yeah? And where the hell did that get him, huh? That didn't exactly work out, in case you've forgotten!"

"Husky still tried-"

"And he _died_ trying! Don't you fucking get it?! HE _DIED!_ ASHLEY _MURDERED HIM!_ SHE TRICKED HIM, MURDERED HIM, AND BETRAYED ALL OF US! SO SHE DESERVES TO _BURN IN HELL_!" Without warning, Jason suddenly slammed the picture frame on the ground, shattering the glass. Seto, Steven, Bart, and Dave immediately clamped their hands over their ears and Tyler gasped audibly.

Annie let out a shriek of horror. "What the hell are you doing?!" she cried out, diving to the floor and quickly gathering up the plastic frame.

Jason stared down at the glass shards scattered about, breathing through clenched teeth as his eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"...Do you feel better now?"

Jason whipped his head to face Jordan. "What?!"

Jordan gazed at him solemnly. "I asked if you feel better, now that you've released your anger."

"Shut- Shut the fuck up!" Jason howled.

"How can you disrespect the dead like that?!" Annie demanded as she placed the now-coverless frame back on the table. "How can you?!"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Oh, like Ashley was respecting the dead when she dumped Husky's body down the elevator shaft after stabbing him and slitting his throat."

"No one is saying that what Ashley did was right," Seto tried to say.

"But it seems like all of you have just gone and forgiven her just like that!"

"I'm so damn sick of this!" Annie cursed. "You don't have to forgive her if you don't want to. I'm not sure if _I_ could ever forgive her either. She did one of the worst possible things in the world while only thinking of herself, I know. But for God's sake just- just stop- stop-!" Annie struggled to figure out how to finish her sentence before giving up. "You know what I mean!"

Jason wouldn't have it. "You don't have any right to tell me how _I_ should feel about this! None of you do! Besides, it's just a drawing, why does it matter if it's not in the memorial?"

"By that logic, it shouldn't matter to you if it _is_ in the memorial!" Annie argued.

"It's just a drawing!"

"J-Jason's right..." Steven mumbled. Everyone turned to stare at him, stunned. Steven's eyes widened. "I- I mean- He's right in that it _is_ just a drawing... Which is why we shouldn't be fighting over something like this..."

"Yeah, we should resolve this argument right now and move on," Tyler suggested shakily. "It'll be better for everyone."

"If we go by a majority vote, Ashley's drawing gets to stay in the memorial," Jordan said. "You are the only one who disagrees out of all of us, Jason."

Jason glared at them but found himself forced to relent. "...Fine. Keep it there. It's not like any of you were as close to Husky as I was."

Before anyone could argue, Bonks suddenly ran in the cafeteria. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to speak through her shuddering gasps for air.

"Bonks?!" Steven exclaimed, rushing over to her. "What- What's wrong?! What happened?!"

Bonks unexpectedly hugged Steven tightly as she burst into anguished sobs. Stunned into silence, Steven returned the embrace, unsure of what else to do to comfort her. Everyone else surrounded them, equally shocked by Bonks' emotional state.

"Oh my god," Tyler whispered. "Bonks? What happened to you?"

"N-Nothing, nothing, I-"

"Something must have happened to Bodil," Seto said quietly.

"She was watching over him since this morning," Annie affirmed. "Bonks? What happened to him?"

Bonks didn't reply. She couldn't, she was crying too hard.

"Is... Is Bodil...?" Jordan asked, trailing off.

"...He's dead, isn't he?" Jason said flatly. "Ashley managed to kill him in the end too."

Bonks shook her head. "No... No, he- He-" She hiccuped. "He's awake..."

A strange mixture of confused relief swept over the group.

"Then why are you crying like that?!" Tyler asked, grinning in bewilderment. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Bonks cringed and shook her head, trembling. "I- I messed up so badly... You have no idea... how badly... I messed up..."

"What did you do?" Annie asked.

Bonks stuttered as she forced the words out. "He- He woke up, and- and the first thing he did- the very first thing- was ask about _Ashley_!"

For a long moment, there was only a horrified silence in the air, save for Bonks's choked sobs. Now that she had finally mustered up the courage to start it, her whole confession spilled from her lips in a panicked frenzy.

"I- I didn't know what to do! He- He just looked so happy- as he asked where she was- he mentioned how much he wanted to see her- and I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth! I lied to him! I told him she was okay and that he would see her soon!" Bonks wailed. "I- I just made things worse- I raised his hopes for no good reason- and now he thinks Ashley's alive when she's not!" The distraught girl lifted her head and gazed tearfully at the group. "How- How can we tell him the truth now? He's going to find out eventually and then he- he'll-!"

"-Just have to bear the grief," Jason muttered.

Tyler glanced sharply at him. "You... You mean we just-"

"Tell him the truth at once," Seto said in agreement. "It's better if he finds out as soon as possible."

"We definitely can't keep lying to him," Annie said reluctantly. "But... he won't react well... God, I can't imagine what he'll do-"

"It's better than him finding out by himself," Jordan reasoned. "We can tell him together and help him in any way we can."

"I messed up," Bonks insisted, burying her head in Steven's chest. "I messed up, I messed up, I messed up, I-"

"Bonks, don't blame yourself so much..." Steven said softly, patting her back comfortingly.

Bonks shook her head. "I messed up..." she repeated.

"I'm pretty sure that almost everyone here would have done the same thing in your shoes..."

Bonks let go of him and stared at him hesitantly. "R-Really?"

"Of course," Steven replied, giving her a tentative smile. "You made a mistake, but it was understandable, and we can help you fix it. So there's no need to be that upset."

Bonks smiled back shakily before sniffling and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Th... Thank you... Steven..."

"Is Bodil still awake?" Seto asked.

Bonks's face turned grave. "He should be..."

"Then let's get going."

Filled with dread and reluctance, the nine of them made their way to their injured friend, whose ignorant hopes could only turn into despair.


	37. Ignorance is Bliss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: There wasn't a good place to cut it so... Have the longest chapter so far.)

Bodil was sitting upright on the bed, staring at the sling supporting his right arm with curiosity. He glanced at the group the moment they entered and surrounded him, his tawny eyes beaming with delight. "W-Woah, that's a lot of visitors..." he said, laughing a little.

For a moment, no one knew what to say. Bonks was hiding in the very back, quivering in fear. Finally, Seto mustered the courage to speak. "How... are you feeling?"

"I've definitely felt better..." Bodil admitted as he stared at his elevated legs, which were still covered in casts. "But it doesn't really hurt as much as it should. It's probably because of the painkillers."

Seto nodded. "That's good to hear..."

"How long will I be stuck in the infirmary?"

"With healing potions? Not for long. You'll need a lot of rest, though."

"I see," Bodil murmured. He observed the group again, his smile widening. "Hey... Where's Ashley? Bonks said that she would be here..."

Bonks let out a squeak of terror and looked away, unable to meet Bodil's questioning gaze.

"Husky's not here either..." Bodil's eyes widened. "Is Ryan still missing?"

Seto's mouth was dry. "...How much do you remember?"

"Um, not a lot. I remember falling but I can't remember how or where..." Bodil wrung his hands nervously. "I remember MonoWither revealing the motive... And Husky and I went to go look for... Jordan...? No, Ryan! Yeah, and then, um... Oh yeah..." Bodil looked away awkwardly. "S-Sorry Seto... Husky probably already told you, but I'm really sorry about accusing you like that..."

It took Seto a moment to realize exactly what Bodil was talking about. Had it really just been a little over a day ago? It felt like weeks... "It's okay, just keep going."

Bodil nodded. "We were searching and searching... and then... then..." He trailed off. "I don't remember after that, besides falling... I think it might have been down the elevator shaft? I remember trying to grip onto something... but it was so dark..." Bodil grinned. "Ashley's probably super mad at me for getting hurt... Where is she? You guys didn't tell me yet!"

Seto opened his mouth to reply but closed it. He thought he'd been mentally prepared to tell Bodil everything, but the innocently eager look on Bodil's face stopped him...

Before Seto could reply, the PA system turned on.

_Let's kill merrily, we don't need the adults~!_   
_Can we make one hundred corpses~? Let's have a competition~!_

The reaction was instantaneous. Bodil immediately clamped his hands over his ears and started to tremble violently. "No- No stop it- No- Nononono- Turn it off please-! Please-!"

"Bodil?!" Bonks exclaimed in shock.

"Calm- Calm down Bodil!" Tyler shouted, grasping his arms and trying to pry his iron grip on the sides of his head. "You're- You're okay now, no one can hurt you now- The song can't hurt you, you're okay..."

Bodil shook his head and closed his eyes tightly, whimpering as though he was being tortured.

"What's happening to him?!" Steven demanded in horrified confusion. "Why would he react to the song like that?!"

"It's the song that... was used to lure them..." Seto mumbled without thinking. Bart nodded in agreement.

"And _how_ did you know that exactly?!" Annie snapped. "Bart I can understand, but _you_?! You weren't there!"

Seto's face paled. "I- Um-"

The music stopped. _"Upupupu... What do we have here? A poor lost soul who missed the last episode?"_ MonoWither appeared before them, grinning in anticipation. "Well that won't do at all, no sir!"

"We were going to explain ourselves," Jordan said, glaring at them.

"You? Give an episode recap?" MonoWither scoffed. "Oh please, you don't have the proper experience. As your hosts, we have the charm! The smiles! The pizzazz! The-"

"Why can't you just leave us alone for once?" Jordan demanded.

"Well isn't that quite interesting for you to say, isn't it? After all, it seems like you've done just that to something you supposedly care about... You left them all alone in your room..."

Jordan fought to keep his voice steady. "That's because Jerry was asleep and I didn't want to wake them."

"Well we couldn't help ourselves! They were just so peaceful looking, we had to do something!" MonoWither giggled mischievously.

"What did you do to Jerry?" Jordan asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"So upset over a slime! It's like your own child at this point, huh? Is it your strange way of coping with your grief over the death of a certain someone?"

Jordan stayed silent.

"Well in any case, don't you worry your pretty little head, Jordan! We just gave them a little wake-up call, that's all!"

"And what exactly do you mean by a 'wake-up call'?"

Right at that moment, a squelching sound filled the air. Everyone turned to face the door to the infirmary as a familiar slime slid their way through the small crack before coalescing with a loud pop. The slime hopped towards the group frantically. "Jerry!" Jordan cried out, picking up the slime and cradling it protectively. "They- They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"We just said that we didn't, all we did was wake them up, sheesh! But by the way, just a fun MonoWither fact of the day, did you know that slimes are actually edible? In certain villages, villagers stuff slimes full of food until they can't dissolve any more of it, and then while the taste is still fresh they cut them up into tiny, delectable cubes and eat them alive!"

Jordan drew in a sharp breath and backed away.

"You know, we've always wondered how stuffed slime would taste..." MonoWither's red eyes gleamed ravenously as they shifted to stare at Jerry.

"I... bet it wouldn't satisfy you. Too, um, gluey, you know," Jordan said, trying not to sound as unnerved as he really was.

"But it wouldn't hurt to just try at least once! We bet it would have the same texture as gelatine! Now wouldn't that be quite the tasty treat!"

"You have plenty of slimes already, why don't you try some of those?" Jordan asked as calmly as he could. "Besides, Jerry's too small."

"Oh, but Jerry's so cooperative, they'd probably do whatever you said!"

Jordan's eyes glinted behind his red sunglasses. "I would _never_ let you harm them- Not over my dead body-"

"R-Ryan-! RYAN-! RYAAAN!" Bodil gasped suddenly, tears streaming down his face as his eyes widened. "No- It's not real- He's okay- He's okay-! It's just a nightmare! It can't be real!"

"Oh dear, looks like Bodil here is already remembering what happened a little bit!" MonoWither said, turning away from Jordan and Jerry.

"...Remembering?" Bodil whispered.

"That's good and all, but we want a live reaction! So before he spoils too much for himself... It's time for a recap of the killing half of Part 03!" MonoWither turned around, lowered themselves to the ground, and looked up at the wall in front of the group. They opened their mouths and projected a black screen onto the wall.

Bodil gulped. "What... What's going on?" he whispered. "G-Guys? What do they mean by 'killing half'?"

No one knew how to respond to him. Steven wordlessly placed a hand on his uninjured shoulder for support.

"Woohoo!" MonoWither's voice shouted through the PA system. "Lights, camera, action!"

The image then changed to show a video clip of the participants sitting in the cafeteria, talking animatedly in front of MonoWither.

"So to start this recap off, things were being a bit too boring after Mitch and Jerome died, so MonoWither decided to spice things up and reveal the next motive: if the next murderer succeeded, they could have all the money they could ever want in the world! However..."

The clip changed to show Husky and Seto yelling at each other, with everyone else crowded around them.

"...the discussion got a little heated up, and many despairing accusations were made!"

The clip showed Seto fleeing from the scene and Husky chasing after him before the image faded to black. Then it showed Husky sitting in his room and writing in his notebook.

"Ultimately, Husky was a noble yet despairingly foolish person! He made it his personal duty to preserve the lives of the remaining survivors, so he tried to go look for the still-missing Ryan! He wrote letters to three people he trusted; Bodil, Jordan, and Jason; and told them to meet him in the central hall at 11:00 pm. However, the one person he thought he knew would certainly show up... Dun dun dun!" The footage showed Jason staring at the letter in his hands before slowly crumpling it up and dropping it in the trash can. "Jason made the smart decision by not trusting his closest friend since childhood! Good thinking, Jason!"

Seto noticed Jason cringe as he turned his head to look away from the screen, which changed to show Bodil talking to Husky.

"Bodil, always the cautious one, actually went to Husky's room to confirm that the note was sincere. Ultimately, Husky's explanation eased his worries! However, Husky also told him that _Jordan_ was one of the other people he had given the note to..."

Now it showed Bodil talking to Ashley in her room. Seto couldn't stop himself from shuddering as he watched the scene, specifically Ashley's stone-cold expression. Her dark eyes seemed to harden, reminding Seto of cold frost slowly crystallizing into thin ice. Had Bodil telling her about Husky's plan triggered the idea, or had she already been planning out the murder attempts before his arrival?

...Was she looking at Bodil in that way because she was already considering him as one of her victims?

Seto would never know the answer...

"Bodil, also an incredibly _naive_ fool, proceeded to tell Ashley about everything that Husky had told him. He asked her if she wanted to join them in their noble quest to save the long-lost Ryan, but she said no! Hmm... We wonder why!"

Before Bodil could question their peculiar statement, the scene changed once more. Now it was a fast-forwarded clip of Husky and Bodil running around as they searched for Ryan. "There's really nothing interesting about this, but we're approaching the exciting part! After all, now we're at the part where Bodil's memory... ends..."

Seto felt chills run up and down his spine as the footage shifted to show him walking down the steps from the second floor to the first. It was still Night Time, as seen by the dim lights in the background, so that meant that this was showing what happened _that night_...

The lights suddenly turned off, plunging the footage into darkness, before the camera's night vision activated. Seto saw himself halt in his tracks and look around wildly for a few moments as that chilling song echoed in the distance. Then the body discovery announcement rang and Seto ran towards his room before being stopped by Annie.

"What the hell were you doing outside before the blackout?!" Annie asked accusingly, shifting her gaze from the footage to glare at Seto. The others also stared at him in bewilderment.

"Hush, hush! Stop interrupting the recap!" MonoWither chided.

Annie pursed her lips together before reluctantly looking back.

"I'm more curious as to how you were still able to film us during the blackout," Jordan muttered.

"Do you really think we would let a silly little blackout stop us from watching your pretty little faces? Of course not! Now shush, all of you! Only despair-filled sounds allowed from here on!"

Now the recording showed them gathered outside their rooms, unsure of what was going on. "Everyone was disrupted from their beauty sleep by the dreaded body discovery announcement!" MonoWither commented. "Truly a wonderful wake-up call! However, certain people were missing... Certain people like Ryan, Husky, Jordan, and Bodil!"

"Why do we have to sit through this again?" Jason complained. "Why can't we just tell Bodil what happened ourselves, why do we have to sit through your god-awful retelling-"

" _Anyway_ , there was a long hard search for these missing people and there was no luck until...!" Without warning, MonoWither flashed an image of Jordan's unconscious, crimson-stained body.

Bodil let out a piercing scream of terror and jerked backwards. "No- No no no- NO! JORDAN?! JORDAN!"

Jordan quickly grabbed his shoulder and moved so that he was right in front of Bodil's face, blocking the screen. "Bodil, I'm right here. I'm perfectly okay, I'm fine," he reminded him.

Bodil's eyes darted between Jordan and the image in front of him, trembling. "But- But- But you- What?"

MonoWither cackled. "We can't believe the prank worked so well! You had the best reaction yet, second to Tyler's! You... ahem... _fell_ for it so hard, huh?! Huh?!" There was silence, save for MonoWither's pleased giggles. "Eh, whatever. Anyway, they found Jordan stashed inside an instrument case of all things, but the red stuff was just ketchup!"

"Who- Who would do something like that, though?" Bodil asked.

"That's the million-dollar question of the day! Who? Who would do this to Jordan of all people? Who do you think would do this, Bodil?" MonoWither asked dangerously.

"Y-You-?" Bodil stammered, although he sounded unsure.

"Upupupu... We'll see..." MonoWither fast-forwarded the footage again and resumed their commentary. "So Jordan was being really unhelpful because _someone_ had hit him with a sleeping potion and he couldn't remember what happened! So our determined participants kept searching for the others until Seto, always the smart one, came to a realization..." The footage slowed down to show Seto stopping in front of one of the elevators and attempting to open it with his magic. "Hey Bodil, guess what he found inside?"

Bodil was too scared to reply.

"Ding ding ding! We'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that you're correct! It was _you_!" Bodil let out a horrified yelp when he saw his own broken body lying on the floor. "And you would have died had Seto and Jordan not helped persuade us to spare you! We were so ready to just watch you perish along with the others! You owe them!"

"Along with the _others..._? What do you mean...?" Bodil gulped and looked around, visibly starting to connect certain pieces of the puzzle...

"Well you see, they found an even better surprise in the other elevator! Guess who!"

"R-Ryan, right? But... But wasn't he in the same elevator shaft that I..." Bodil's face paled. "N-No..."

"Ding ding ding! Right again!" The image of Husky's corpse flashed on the screen. "But he wasn't lucky like you were! No, _someone_ had attacked him with a knife and slit his throat open! Somehow he managed to survive because of a Potion of Strength (Those things are ridiculously strong!), but only long enough for one last heartfelt goodbye with Jason, the one who had _betrayed_ him!"

"I didn't betray him!" Jason insisted, although the guilty expression on his face indicated that he felt otherwise.

"Sure Jason, sure... Keep on denying it!"

"It wasn't his fault, leave him alone!" Tyler shouted.

"Fine, fine! Anyway, we were really disappointed when no one found Ryan's body, so we had to direct Steven to the right location!" Steven shielded his eyes when Ryan's dangling body flashed on the screen. "Eh, at least we didn't stage the deaths like some other low-budget reality TV show would!"

"But- But Husky... who did that to him?" Bodil whispered.

"What, don't you remember someone charging at you before you stupidly fell down the elevator shaft in an attempt to dodge? Well maybe it wasn't that stupid since you ended up surviving, unlike Husky..."

Bodil stared down at his lap. "It's just... I can't think of anyone who would do something like that..."

MonoWither stopped projecting the footage and flew up, turning around to face him. "You can't possibly be that stupid! Come on, process of elimination! Who isn't here with us anymore?"

Bodil looked around for a few moments, mentally counting the people, before glaring at MonoWither. "Stop it with your stupid pranks! I know it's not Ashley!"

MonoWither couldn't keep themselves from chortling. "Oh- Oh really-? Who- Who is it then? If it isn't Ashley, then who?"

"Um- Um- Ryan! Ryan, he faked it with- with a dummy!"

"Faked it with a dummy?" MonoWither giggled. "Oh man, that's something... In this filming area, we have never used and will never continue to use any dummies for dead bodies! That's just a cheap cop-out! Come on, who else other than Ashley?"

"...Husky... killed himself...?" Bodil suggested quietly.

Jason exhaled sharply, a harsh mix between a growl and a sigh. "For fuck's sake, I'm so sick of this shit! I really am, okay?! Just accept the fact that it was _Ashley_ , it was _Ashley_ who did it!"

Jason's voice echoed in the silent room. Bodil's eyes widened in absolute horror as he stared at him. "J-Jason...?" he said, his fragile-sounding voice trembling like a leaf in the wind. "Why... Why would you lie like that?"

"The only liar here is you!" Jason snapped. "You're lying to yourself!"

"I'm sorry Bodil, but... Ashley really did do it..." Jordan murmured.

MonoWither cackled raucously. "Jason and Jordan are right! Everything they said is right! Your precious darling Ashley was the one who attacked you and murdered Husky!"

"No- No you're _wrong_! _You're ALL wrong! I KNOW YOU'RE WRONG!_ " Bodil pointed at Bonks. "Bonks already told me that she was here! Right, Bonks? Tell them they're wrong!"

Bodil's tawny eyes were filled with such innocent hope, Seto had to avert his gaze.

Bonks whimpered and looked away as well, shame twisting her face. "I-I'm sorry Bodil, I- I lied to you..."

Bodil looked like he had just been shot in the chest. "...What...?" Once again, his voice had been reduced to a faint whisper.

"I'm so sorry, I just couldn't bring myself to tell you the truth..." Bonks shut her eyes tightly.

Bodil sat there, motionless for a few moments. "...No..." he mumbled, shaking his head slowly as he stared blankly into space. "It's... not true... No... It can't be... Ashley would never do something like this... She would never hurt anyone, let alone kill... Husky must have been murdered by someone else... This is a mistake... This can't be true... S-Seto!"

Seto flinched as Bodil turned to face him. "What?"

"You were there with her last night! I saw you!"

Seto felt all the blood drain from his face. "I- I don't know what you're talking about-"

"You were watching over me!" Bodil recalled. "Y-Yeah, I remember that! You made the pain go away... You were sitting right over there, I saw you!" He jabbed a finger right at the chair where Seto had indeed been sitting.

Seto swallowed. "I was, but what does that have to do with anything-?"

"D-Didn't you see Ashley?! She was right _there_ the whole time!" Bodil was now gesturing to an empty chair on the opposite side of his bed. "She was talking to me too, saying how I was going to be okay!"

Seto's face was as pale as a ghost's. "I... I don't know what you're talking about... No one else was there..."

"But you were unconscious yesterday," Steven pointed out.

Tyler cringed. "You, um, were probably just dreaming-"

"Why are you all lying to me?!" Bodil shrieked. "Why are you doing this?! Just tell me the truth, where is she! I know she didn't kill anyone, I just know it!"

"Do you want proof?" MonoWither asked with three dark, devilish smiles. "Because if you do, we have all the video evidence you could ever need..." They positioned themselves on the floor again and projected a clip of Jordan walking out of his room and heading towards the central hall, Jerry following closely behind him. He stepped out of the hallway and glanced at a nearby clock, which showed the time as 10:30 pm. Suddenly, without warning, a potion flask struck the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Jerry rushed to Jordan's side before seeing something that forced the slime to flee. A girl emerged from the shadows, a girl Bodil distinctly recognized...

"Jordan was supposed to meet you guys at 11:00, right? But for some reason he was there thirty minutes early. We wonder how Ashley knew he would be there! Hmm, maybe she took the information a certain individual gave her and... made a plan..." MonoWither didn't give Bodil any time to process what he had just seen before showing another clip, this time of Ashley slipping a piece of paper underneath Jordan's door.

Bodil struggled to keep his voice steady. "N-No- No this isn't- This isn't true, this is just a misunderstanding-"

"Or maybe you want to see her actually committing the murder! In that case, here you go! We're so glad we invested in night vision cameras!"

The footage showed Husky and Bodil examining the wrestling room when all of a sudden the dreadful song started playing. They looked at each other before rushing out of the room and up the stairs toward the source. Then it cut to Ashley standing in the music room, her finger pressing on the play button of the DJ mixer.

Husky and Bodil reached the third floor and stopped, staring at the loudspeaker right in front of them. They looked around, bewildered, before Husky finally screamed in horror and pointed at Ryan's dead body hanging in the elevator shaft. Seemingly in disbelief, Bodil rushed towards the body and grabbed Ryan's hand before jerking his arm back as though he had been burned. Husky and Bodil stood there, completely paralyzed by shock, when they were suddenly plunged into darkness.

Ashley emerged from the music room, clutching a knife. She raised the blade and lunged forward at Bodil, who was the closer one. Although he hadn't been able to see a thing, Bodil's reflexes allowed him to dodge the attack. However, his victory was short-lived as Ashley quickly shoved him aside. He screamed in terror as he misstepped and plunged all the way down...

Without hesitation, Ashley ran towards Husky, who had just consumed a Potion of Strength. He tried to dodge the swipe of the knife as well, but it still grazed his side. Husky cried out and clutched the bleeding wound, gasping for air as he blindly staggered away towards the steps.

With the poison of the blade quickly taking effect and the darkness impeding his vision, he didn't get very far. It only took a few seconds for Ashley to tackle him to the ground, pin him down, and slash his neck with one quick slice.

Bodil let out a small whimper at the sight, clamping his hands over his mouth.

Ashley breathed heavily as she waited for him to go still before standing up. Blood stained her clothes and the floor around her. She looked up at the camera, her expression unreadable, before dragging Husky's body over to the second elevator shaft.

"...Is that enough proof for you?" Jason asked coldly, staring at the image of Husky's dead body as Ashley dropped it down. "Are you still going to deny what Ashley did?"

Bodil looked around helplessly, still struggling to find some sort of reasonable explanation. "No- No you're all lying- You're all lying!" he shrieked.

Seto watched as MonoWither quickly changed the footage to show a certain point in the trial.

_Ashley opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "I won't argue anymore, Seto. There isn't anything left to say. After everything you just said... After everything you managed to figure out despite my best efforts... there's no point in drawing things out any longer. I failed, and that's all there is to it. So I'll just admit it right now."_

_"...You're right, Seto. I was the one who killed Husky."_

"Liars! LIARS!" Bodil cried out, shutting his eyes tightly and clamping his hands over his ears. "THIS ISN'T TRUE! YOU'RE ALL LIARS! WHY WOULD SHE EVEN DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"

"Upupupu, you thought our motive was harmless, but we choose all of our motives for a good reason! And Ashley knew it too!"

_"None of you truly understand, do you? Well, maybe a few of you do, I don't know. I was once a girl in a run-down neighborhood who had to steal money for food to eat. And sure, my parents managed to move us to a better place eventually. But I never forgot what it was like. Most of you started off with a decent standard of living. Most of you don't know the feeling of being stuck in piles of debt like I do right now. Most of you don't know the feeling when money is all you need to save your life, and you don't have enough. And I'm glad you don't, to be honest. But for people like me... Money is survival."_

"What?" Bodil whispered, his voice filled with dazed confusion. "What did she mean by that? She never said anything to me about being in debt..."

_"Oh! Oh! Let us explain!" MonoWither cut in. "You see, remember in Part 02 when the secrets were introduced?"_

_Seto looked bewildered. "P-Part 02, what the hell are you talking about-"_

_"Part 02 of this show of course! Anyway, remember that? Ashley here didn't kill anyone in Part 02, but she did have a terrible secret of her own! Ashley, would you like to take the special honor?"_

_Ashley clenched her jaw. "...Must I?"_

_"Of course you must! Everyone's practically dying to know how you're in Stage_ _II_ _of breast cancer- Oh dear, we said it for you on accident, our apologies..." MonoWither said, their smiles indicating that they were not sorry at all._

Bodil sucked in a sharp breath. "C-Cancer? She... had cancer? But- But she never told me!" He was shrieking again. "Why- Why didn't she tell me she was dying?! Why didn't she say anything?!"

"Maybe it's because she didn't trust you at all! After all, why do you think she tried to kill you?" MonoWither mocked cruelly.

Seto glared at them. "Shut the hell up!"

The footage of Ashley as she went on to explain her reasons for murder continued in the background as Bodil rocked back and forth on the bed. "This- This isn't true- No no no- This is all a lie- No-" His chest heaved as he hyperventilated. "No! NO! I WON'T BELIEVE THIS!"

"Bodil, please- You need to breathe-!" Steven tried to tell him.

"SHUT UP! YOU'RE ALL LIARS!"

Annie tried to reach for him comfortingly, but he shoved her away with a violence that Seto had never seen in him before. "LEAVE ME ALONE! I HATE YOU ALL! LIARS! LIARS!"

"Hey Bodil, don't you know what happens when a murderer is caught?" MonoWither asked gleefully, relishing in his agony. "An execution, of course! You've seen it happen twice before, now you get to see a rerun of Ashley's in full HD!"

Ashley was now chained to the inside of the MRI machine.

"No no no- This isn't happening-!" Bodil moaned.

The MRI machine blasted forward towards the side of the snowy mountain.

"Stop it! STOP IT! STOP IT PLEASE!" he begged desperately.

Ashley tumbled out of the machine right before it crashed into the cliff side. A few seconds later, her bruised and battered body could be seen amongst the wreckage as she struggled to keep moving. She was coughing up blood and her right leg was broken.

"STOP! STOP!"

The mountain shook violently as the snow on top of the cliff broke free and tumbled downwards towards her.

"No... No no no... No..."

Ashley stared up at the approaching avalanche before closing her eyes, her face strangely peaceful.

Bodil was tugging at his hair so tightly, Seto was afraid he would tear them right out from the roots.

The snow ruthlessly barreled down towards her, enveloping her in white, before burying her completely. And then she was gone.

For a few seconds, there was only silence as the footage ended. MonoWither resumed their hovering stance and grinned at Bodil. "Well? What did you think?"

Bodil's eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets. Tears streamed down his face as he breathed heavily, gasping for air.

"...Bodil...?" Bonks whispered.

Bodil didn't respond. Instead... he started to laugh. It reminded Seto of the time when Bodil had burst into uncontrollable laughter after watching the motive video, only it was much worser. Now it seemed like he had completely lost it.

"I... I'm dead, right...?" Bodil asked breathlessly in-between broken giggles. "Oh- Oh god- I'm _dead!_ That's the only explanation! I'm dead, and this is hell! I'm trapped in hell! Right?!" He couldn't stop laughing, even though his entire body was wincing in pain from the exertion. "None of this is real- None of you are real- Ashley's death isn't real- This is just hell- Please let this just be hell-"

"Why can't you just get it into your fucking head already!" Jason shouted angrily. "ASHLEY IS DEAD AND SHE KILLED HUSKY!"

"Stop that!" Annie scolded. "Just leave him alone!"

Bodil shook his head and giggled. "It's not-! Hahaha-! It's not real-! It's not real!" He grinned at all of them with some sort of sick triumph. "Not real... You can't fool me..."

"Bodil, please! Stop laughing like that!" Steven cried out, visibly disturbed.

"Not real, not real, not real!" Bodil chanted in a sing-song voice.

Tyler grasped his uninjured arm and tried to get Bodil to face him. "Bodil, just calm down and listen to us-"

Bodil shut his eyes tightly. "Not real, not real, not real!" he repeated as though his life depended on it.

Bonks was in tears. "What- What do we do-?"

"Hah! Hahaha! HAH!"

Seto wordlessly approached Bodil and reached into his pocket, pulling out the hair ribbons. He ignored everyone's shocked, suspicious stares as he placed them on Bodil's lap. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, drawing back.

Bodil stopped laughing as he stared at the ribbons, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed nervously. He tentatively picked them up with shaking hands and began rubbing them almost feverishly, feeling the red fabric with his fingers as though he was trying to see if they were real. Bodil drew in a trembling breath. "N-No..." he murmured. "It's... not real... Ashley... she would never..." His voice broke as he clutched the ribbons tighter. "No- No no no- I was just talking to her- Last night- She was comforting me- I saw her, as clear as day-! Ashley- Ashley would never do something like this- Ashley can't be dead- Not true not true not true-" All of his words got stuck in his throat as the heartbroken man began to wail, burying his face in the ribbons. "Ashley... Ashley...!" he sobbed in anguish.

"...Have you finally realized it?" Jason snapped.

Bodil looked up at him with terrified eyes. "H-Huh?"

"I asked if you _finally_ realized what Ashley did to Husky!"

The man started to panic. "I- I don't know- I-"

"SAY IT!" Jason yelled.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Annie shouted. "Can't you see he's suffering?! Leave him alone!"

"I want him to say it! I want him to realize _exactly_ what Ashley did to Husky! Maybe the rest of you could learn a lesson from him!" Jason retorted.

Annie's green eyes flashed. "What are you, a sadist?! I can't believe you're actually doing this!"

"What exactly do you want, Jason?" Jordan asked, glaring at Jason. "What are you looking for? Because I don't think it's worth hurting Bodil like this-"

"I don't fucking know, okay?! I'm just so fucking sick of all of this! Husky is dead and it's all because of what _Ashley_ did!"

"I'm- I'm sorry Jason-" Bodil mumbled. "I'm sorry Husky is dead-"

"Damn right you should be sorry," Jason muttered under his breath. "You should be sorry it wasn't you who died instead."

Bodil gasped in pain, staring at Jason in horrified disbelief.

Before anyone could react, Annie lunged forward and slapped the left side of Jason's face as hard as she could. She would have struck him again had Seto not grabbed her and held her back. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" she shrieked, struggling to free herself from Seto's grip as she reached out her arms toward him. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW! HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO HIM?!"

Jason looked shell-shocked as he stared back at her, numbly touching the reddening mark on his cheek with his hand.

"GET OUT!" Annie cried out. "I SAID GET OUT RIGHT NOW!"

After a few stunned moments, Jason silently left the infirmary.

Seto let go of Annie, who breathed heavily as she clenched her fists. No one knew what to say, not even Bodil, who was still sobbing quietly to himself.

"And that, viewers, was our episode recap! We hope you enjoyed watching, we know Bodil certainly did! And now we'll leave you guys with some filler! Upupupu!" MonoWither giggled before disappearing.

"What- What's happening to us?" Bonks whimpered. "Why are we acting like this?"

They all knew the answer.

"I'm not going to apologize for slapping him," Annie muttered. "He deserved it."

"He _is_ going through a lot right now," Jordan reminded her.

"I'm perfectly aware of that! But that doesn't give him the excuse to put Bodil through even more pain!"

"I'm- I'm sorry-" Bodil whispered repeatedly. "I'm sorry, I- It's all my fault this happened- He was right- "

"N-No he wasn't," Steven said quietly. "He was just saying that out of anger, he wasn't right at all-"

Bodil shook his head. "I- I told Ashley everything- I didn't protect Husky at all-"

"Stop it," Tyler said. "You couldn't have known what Ashley would do."

This only seemed to make Bodil cry harder. "But- But I should have known!" Bodil wailed. "I- I thought we were best friends- Why didn't she tell me she was going through all that?! What did I do wrong?! Why didn't she trust me?!" Bodil stared down at the ribbons in his hands. "She... She must have hated me, she tried to kill me, after all-"

"MonoWither left out a certain part," Seto cut in.

"What do you mean?"

"...MonoWither mentioned Jordan and me persuading them to save you, but they didn't mention how Ashley was the most vocal about it. When she realized that you were still alive, she was the first to demand MonoWither to save you."

"That- That doesn't mean anything! Why did she even try to kill me in the first place if she didn't hate me?!"

"She knew there was a chance she would be caught," Seto continued. "She didn't want to take away your chance of survival. Yes, she tried to kill you. But she was driven to desperation because of her situation, you know that. It wasn't because of you specifically. She still cared about you even after what she did."

"...Why didn't she say anything to me?" Bodil asked weakly. "Why did she keep it all to herself? I... I thought she trusted me... I could have done something... to help her... anything..."

"That was her decision, it wasn't your fault at all," Jordan remarked. "She didn't tell a single soul about what she was going through, it wasn't just you. Stop blaming yourself for what Ashley did."

Bodil sniffled as he clung onto the ribbons. "Ashley..." he whispered to himself again, his voice a lost, irrevocable sound. He closed his eyes, which were swollen with tears, and softly wept in anguish.

"...Someone should check on Jason..." Steven mumbled. "Just in case he... does something irrational..."

"I'll do it," Seto replied. Without waiting for a reply, he left the room as well.

* * *

Seto found Jason lying on the dance floor, staring up at the star-studded ceiling. He was clutching the silver star that Husky had given him just a few days ago to his chest. His eyes were closed.

Seto watched him for a few moments, wondering if he had actually fallen asleep.

"...I know you're there," Jason muttered, still keeping his eyes closed. "Is it you, Annie?" He cracked open his eyes and turned to face Seto. "Oh, it's _you_."

Seto hesitantly stepped forward and stopped when he was staring down at him.

"You know, lying on the ground is actually kind of relaxing," Jason said with a sigh. "Maybe you should try it."

Seto silently laid down beside Jason and looked up at the ceiling.

"So... Are you gonna say anything? Or are you just gonna keep quiet? Because I guess that's fine with me..."

"...Did you really mean to say that to Bodil?"

Jason cringed. "N-No, I mean yes, I mean-" He swallowed. "I don't know," he said quietly.

Seto closed his eyes and thought carefully. "Mmhmm..."

"...I- I know I was being a douche, okay?" Jason admitted. "I- I knew what I was saying was completely uncalled for, but... for some reason I didn't want to stop..."

"So do you actually blame Bodil or not?"

"...I don't know," Jason repeated in a hollow voice. "I don't know about anything anymore, really. I just... get so angry whenever I think about it. I think that stupid episode recap thing MonoWither did made it worse."

Seto chose his words carefully. "...We all know that what Ashley did wasn't right, but she was our friend too. We can't help but mourn for her. But mourning for Ashley won't take away the fact that Husky's death hurt us as well..."

"I know that!" Jason snapped before going silent. "At least that's what part of me knows."

"And the other part of you can't accept it?"

"Y-Yeah... Something like that..."

"So who are you angry at? Just list them out."

"Ashley. MonoWither. Whoever's controlling MonoWither." He paused. "Um..."

"Don't feel bad if you think it's something I wouldn't like to hear. Just say it."

"...All of you guys, especially Bodil," Jason confessed softly. "I don't know, I guess it's because... Husky's not here anymore... And you guys still are..."

"Anyone else?"

"...Husky... for breaking his promise..." Jason laughed bitterly. "That sounds selfish, huh? I mean he's dead..." He looked up at the stars. "They say that the people you care about will always be with you in your heart, but that's just a bullshit way of comforting people in my opinion."

"How so?"

Jason inhaled sharply. "I want him _here_ with me! Not that stupid 'he'll always be in your heart' way, but physically here! And the fact is that he's _dead_ and _gone forever_ and I'm never going to see him ever again!" He breathed deeply. "Why did he have to go and play the hero? In the end, Ryan was already dead... It was all for nothing... It was completely pointless..."

"...It was pointless," Seto agreed. "Everything could have been avoided if Husky hadn't tried looking for Ryan."

"Gee, thanks for the comforting words," Jason muttered.

"But you know that Husky died trying to keep everyone safe..."

"Yeah, and he ended up saving no one."

"...That isn't really true..." Seto mumbled to himself.

"What?"

"I- I mean... There's no point in rationalizing what happened. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. But focusing how unfair it is will just make you feel worse..."

There was a long silence before Jason released a long sigh. "I think the person I hate the most is myself... I could have done something, I should have trusted him... If I did, maybe things would be different..." His eyes drifted shut. "Maybe he'd still be alive."

"You also could have died."

"...So?"

"You couldn't have known. You had the right to be suspicious and I doubt Husky blamed you for it. Plus, if you died and Husky survived somehow... Do you really think things would be better?"

"Obviously yes-"

"Why?"

"Because Husky would be alive!"

"And what about you?"

"Who- Who cares about me?" Jason asked, his voice breaking.

"...Jason..." Seto mumbled, horrified.

" You'd think I'd have known better than to distrust him... He was always there for me when I needed him... We were best friends since we were little kids..."

"...So were Bodil and Ashley..."

Jason's eyes widened in recollection.

"So you can understand why Bodil was in such strong denial."

Jason stared downwards. "Shit, I... I was such a jerk to Bodil... the more I think about how I would feel if our roles were reversed... If someone had told me that Husky had tried to kill me and murdered someone else, I..." Jason swallowed. "I'd think I'd go crazy."

Seto was silent as he felt the amulet in his pocket.

"...I deserved that slap, didn't I? What the hell is wrong with me?"

"You're angry at a lot of things. Mostly yourself. It happens."

"Yeah... I guess that's true..."

They laid there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Jason stood up, pocketing the star. "Hey, thanks a lot. I really needed that."

Seto smiled briefly as he stood up as well. "It was nothing..."

As they left the dance room, he tried not to look at the elevator and think of who he had seen hanging there...

* * *

The two found the rest in the cafeteria. Even Bodil was there, although he was sitting in a wheelchair. Most of the color had returned to his cheeks, but his eyes still seemed listless and lackluster. They all turned to face Seto and Jason when they entered.

Jason, overcome with guilt, shifted awkwardly. "Um... I owe you all an apology..." he mumbled. "I had a lot of anger over what happened and lashed out at everyone, especially you, Bodil..."

"Apology accepted," Jordan said with a soft smile.

Jason's eyes widened. "You're forgiving me just like that?"

"Of course we forgive you!" Tyler said.

"Yeah, we understand," Steven said reassuringly. "At least you came to your senses!"

"The picture frame was MonoWither's anyway, I really could care less about it," Bonks pointed out.

"Just don't give me a reason to slap you again," Annie sighed. "I don't like hurting my friends."

Jason winced and rubbed his cheek. "Yeah, that's a good idea..." He turned to Bodil. "I understand if you won't forgive me-"

"It's okay," Bodil said quietly, not meeting his gaze. "It was my fault, anyway."

Annie sighed. "Bodil, we've been over this-!"

"I could have done something..."

"N-No, that doesn't make it your fault," Jason tried to say.

"If I had known about what Ashley was going through-"

"She kept that hidden from everyone!"

"And- And I was supposed to protect Husky but I failed horribly-"

"And you barely managed to survive. Look at yourself!"

Bodil stared down at the casts on his legs for a few moments. "...It should have been me, like you said-"

Jason scoffed. "That's supposed to be _my_ line, not yours!"

Bodil looked confused. "...What? What are you talking about...?"

"Your whole 'it should have been me schtick' was borrowed from me."

"I don't understand what you mean-"

"I swear, you're just trying to copy me... Well too bad! You can't ever be like me, sadly... No matter how appealing my self-loathing is..."

There was a stunned silence. No one knew what to say before all of a sudden...

...Bodil started to laugh. A real, genuine laugh.

"...Well- Well maybe you blame yourself for Husky's death, but did you ever consider the pain of... _betrayal by a very close friend_?"

Jason grinned, relieved. "Betrayal? Oh please. You were just on the receiving end, but I? I was the one who did the betraying!"

Bodil started to giggle even harder. "Well what about the overwhelming urge to _die_?"

"Been there, done that! While you were sleeping, I was wide awake with that thought! Beat that!"

"I hear that and I raise you with a 'almost murdered by someone you trusted with your life'!"

"Aw, that- I think that wins," Jason said sheepishly. "For now! I mean have you ever watched the love of your life die right in front of you?"

"Sounds horrible. I only saw mine through a crappy recording, not the real deal... But I did have the whole delayed reaction thing going on... And a super horrific execution to go with it..."

"MonoWither is so extra sometimes, huh?"

"Definitely... And he made me watch it the moment I woke up! Who does that?"

The two of them were laughing and crying at the same time as they continued their... discussion... (?)

Jordan blinked in bewilderment before looking away ("Jerry! The paintings are not food!"). Annie merely rolled her eyes in exasperation, giving up rationalizing their actions. Bonks looked like she had no idea whether to feel horrified or glad. Steven and Bart stared at them with total confusion while Dave seemed to relish the dark humor that was going on, if his attentive gaze meant anything.

Tyler inched closer to Seto. "Um... Are they okay...? I mean, just a few minutes ago Bodil was crying and grieving and we could barely comfort hin, and now he and Jason are bonding over their traumatic experiences or something. Not that I'm not glad they're happier-looking, but..."

Seto smiled hopefully as he stared at Husky and Ashley's pictures sitting side-by-side in the memorial.

"...I think they're getting there..."


	38. Running From Monsters

_"Now, Slotty, I expect you to do much better than last time." Master_ _Hennessy's_ _boots echoed against the cobblestone floor as the black-cloaked man paced around the boy, who was kneeling down. Slotty was clutching a staff made out of obsidian with a glowing Ender Crystal floating on the top. "You are improving your control over the body and have managed to last for much longer than before, but your results are still unsatisfactory and you still need a staff to use your magic properly."_

_"I- I promise that I'll do better this time!" the equally-clothed boy chirped. "I promise I'll please you, Master!"_

_The man stared down at the boy coldly, pursing his lips in disappointment. "Prove it to me."_

_"I will, Master!" Hope filled the boy's crimson eyes as he stared up at the man. "I'll be the best servant for you! I'll slaughter everyone who displeases you!"_

_"Empty words mean nothing to me. I want you to prove it to me with your actions. That is the purpose of this test, which you have taken before with poor results."_

_"I've improved since then, Master! I swear it on my life! I'll make you proud, I promise! I promise I won't disappoint you like Seto does! I'm better than he is! I promise!"_

_A frown crossed the man's face as he began leaving the room. "We'll see about that..." he muttered, closing the door._

_Slotty stood up slowly, clutching the staff. He took several deep breaths as the lights dimmed slightly. He could barely hear the sound of the camera focusing on him, compelling him to straighten his posture and look around._

_All of a sudden, he heard the familiar growl of a zombie approaching him from behind. Without even looking, Slotty whirled around and aimed the staff, blasting the zombie. The zombie howled as it flew several feet away before hitting the ground, a bloody mess. Slotty grinned victoriously as he stared at the fallen zombie._

_His grin did not waver one bit as he heard more monsters approaching him through the darkness. He knew what to do. He knew he could do it. He knew he could please Master this time. Confidence and adrenaline coursed through his veins as he swung the staff again, firing a volley of blows at the monsters who hadn't stood a single chance against him._

_The monsters kept coming at him and Slotty continued attacking viciously in turn. Every move Slotty made was mechanical. Instinctive. Second-nature. Monsters littered the ground around him, yet Slotty continued his rampage. As h_ _e began succumbing to the frenzied glee that was consuming his mind, his chest began to burn. Surely, surely he was pleasing his master-!_

_Slotty suddenly stopped and shut his eyes tightly, clutching the staff as the burning sensation in his chest grew. The shadows themselves seemed to swirl around him as he rose in the air. The Ender Crystal glowed a brilliant red._ _Slotty's_ _crimson eyes shot open, revealing his now-slitted pupils, and he grinned to reveal sharp teeth. A roar tore through his throat as bright red dragon wings magically formed on his back._

_He collapsed to the ground on all fours, dropping the staff in the process, and screeched. The humanoid dragon lunged at the nearest monster, a hapless spider, and tore it apart with one swipe of his claws. He roared again as he tackled another zombie to the ground, ripping it to bloody pieces. The only thing racing through his mind was "kill, kill, kill" over and over again as he attacked every moving thing with savage brutality..._

_Abruptly, he dug his claws into something that actually_ screamed. _It was so unexpected that the killing machine stopped his mad rampage and actually assessed the situation. The boy blinked as he stared at the thing he was pinning down. The "thing" was actually a man wearing a white shirt and a red-and-gray checkered hoodie that was now torn to shreds and stained with his own blood. His torso was covered with deep, gushing claw marks. His square glasses were shattered, covering his eyes that were wide open with tortured anguish and fear._

_"S-Seto..." the man coughed out in betrayed disbelief. "Wh-Why... Why did you... I trusted you..."_

_The boy's red eyes immediately shifted to brown as the now-adult Seto scrambled off of him. "T-Tyler?!" Seto shrieked, hovering over him and examining the wounds. "No- No no no-! I thought- I didn't realize-! I-!"_

_"You... monster..." Tyler whispered._

_"No! I'm sorry!" Seto cried out, looking around for something,_ anything _, that could stop the bleeding. "Don't die- Please don't die- I'm sorry-!"_

_"I hate you... I thought I could trust you..." Tyler continued, glaring at Seto with an anger that Seto had never seen in him. "I didn't realize you were a cold-blooded_ **murderer** _!"_

_"I can fix this!" Seto insisted hysterically. "Please- Trust me Tyler-!"_

_"All you do is hurt people!" Tyler yelled. "You hurt everyone around you!"_

_"No- That isn't true-!"_

_"Oh, but Seto..." Master Hennessy said as he stepped towards them. "He's right..."_

_"Get away from him!" Seto shouted, cradling Tyler's body in his arms and instinctively trying to shield the dying man with his wings. "Don't you dare hurt him!"_

_Master Hennessy chuckled. "I think you already did an excellent job on that part..."_

_"No- That wasn't me-! That was Slotty-!"_

_"You're two halves of the same soul. There's really no denying it. Look at all the others you've already hurt."_

_Seto looked around. "No..." he whispered, realizing who they were. The torn, gory bodies of Jordan, Steven, Jason, Bonks, Annie, and Bodil were strewn about on the floor amongst the monsters. "No- No this isn't happening- They can't be dead- No! NO!"_

_"You've hurt all of them and so many others," Master Hennessy continued, his green eyes gleaming. "It's naturally in your blood to hurt. You're my nephew, after all..."_

_"I'm my father's son!" Seto tried to argue. "And my father was nothing like you!"_

_"My twin brother? He was no angel himself, even though he tried leaving the Order after 'gaining a conscience'. But no one can escape what they've done in the past, no matter how far they run away. And look what you did to us in the end... What kind of loving son drives their father to commit suicide? What kind of devoted nephew brutally kills their uncle?"_

_"No..." Seto said softly, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."_

_"You're sorry? My dear Seto... Empty words mean nothing... You'll always be a failure no matter what. You failed your father. You failed me. You failed eight of your friends. And now you'll fail everyone else..."_ _Master Hennessy grinned crookedly before disappearing._

_"No- No that's wrong- No-"_

_"I hate you..." Tyler whispered, still glaring at Seto with contempt._

_"I'm- I'm sorry Tyler-" Seto choked out. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean to- It was Slotty-"_

_"Who cares if it was Slotty?!" Tyler shrieked. "I'm still dying, aren't I?"_

_Seto's eyes widened in horror._

_"I can't believe you're so damn selfish! You never take the blame! 'It was Slotty, it wasn't me-!' THAT DOESN'T BRING ALL THOSE PEOPLE HE KILLED BACK TO LIFE, DOES IT?! WHY DON'T YOU TAKE SOME DAMN RESPONSIBILITY FOR ONCE IN YOUR PATHETIC LIFE?!"_

_"...I'm sorry..." Seto whispered, his voice reduced to practically nothing. "I'm..._ _sorry_ _..."_

_"Sorry doesn't do anything," Tyler hissed, spitting out blood. "You should be sorry it wasn't you who died instead of everyone else. I can't believe I ever called you a friend. I wish you were dead. I wish you had the decency to kill yourself for everyone else's sake. That's what you really deserve... You **monster**..."_

_Before Seto could react, Tyler closed his eyes and went limp._

_"Tyler-? TYLER!" Seto shrieked, shaking the body to no avail. "No- No no no-! COME BACK! DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!"_

_A little boy's voice giggled. "You know how much I hate you, right?"_

_Seto looked up and saw a winged boy with red eyes staring at him. "...Slotty...?"_

_"You may think you're in control now, but I'll come back. I always do. And when I do, I'll make sure you suffer. I'll make all of your friends suffer if that's what it takes!" The boy bent over and laughed hysterically, blood dripping from his fanged mouth. "This is what you deserve! This is what you get! Every tear you shed is a reason for me to cheer! Because that's how much I hate you! I hate you even more than you hate yourself, monster! I'll take away everyone you love and slaughter them one by one and there's nothing you can do about it!"_

_Seto broke down into heartbroken sobs as he clutched Tyler's still, lifeless body closer to his chest. It didn't feel right that there was only one heartbeat between them..._

_"I'm sorry... Please come back... Please don't be dead... Please Tyler..."_

* * *

"Didn't sleep well either?" Jordan inquired, observing Seto curiously as he sipped his morning coffee.

"...Yeah, you could say that..." Seto muttered groggily, resting his head on his crossed arms as he stared down listlessly at the table.

Unlike both of them, Jerry was sleeping peacefully on Jordan's lap.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"...Not really. No."

"Well, do you mind if I talk about mine?" Jordan asked softly. "Sorry, but it won't stop bothering me..."

His voice sounded so uncharacteristically vulnerable, it made Seto look up in surprise. Jordan's face was strangely weary. There were dark bags under his eyes and his face was paler than usual. "Um, of course. You can tell me anything, Jordan."

Jordan took a deep breath. "Okay then, here goes..." He cleared his throat and stared down at Jerry. "Do you... ever have dreams where you're running in the darkness? You can't see a single thing but you're running like your life depends on it."

"...Yes," Seto mumbled.

"Well- Well do you have dreams where you're trying to find someone? You can hear their voice, you can _feel_ their presence, but... you just can't reach them. They're always one step ahead of you and no matter how loudly you call their name they just get farther and farther away and you have to keep chasing after them and begging for them to come back..." Jordan stopped and flinched, blinking rapidly, before looking away. "Y-Yeah. That's my dream."

Seto thought for a few moments. "...Who are you trying to reach?"

Jordan stayed silent before finally muttering something.

"What did you say?"

"...Seth. I'm trying to reach Seth."

The name caught Seto so off guard, he didn't know how to respond to it.

Jordan looked up at the ceiling. "It's only been two weeks or something... Probably even less... But it feels like he's been gone for centuries..." He took a long, shuddering breath. "I still forget he's gone sometimes. It just doesn't seem real. Someone like him, gone forever? That... That's just too unbelievable..." He swallowed. "It doesn't seem real," he repeated in a hollow voice.

"...I'm sorry," was all Seto could say. "I miss him too..."

"He was always putting others before himself," Jordan recalled. "His lifelong dream was to make machines that would help millions of people. He poured his heart and soul into his projects, but he was so bad at taking care of himself. I had to remind him to eat, stay hydrated, take breaks, and sleep. He was just so devoted to helping others..." Jordan paused. "He even died trying to save us..."

Seto stared at the table, the memory flooding his mind.

"...Like I said, he was always so bad at taking care of himself... I tried telling him that he was more important than those creations of his, but... I guess he never listened..." Jordan closed his eyes. "And now... He's gone..."

Seto gazed at the memorial, lost in thought.

"...What would he think of us now?" Jordan asked.

"...I don't know," Seto mumbled. He knew he was being incredibly unhelpful with his responses, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"He gave up his life for us, yet here we are. Half of us are dead because they murdered each other." Jordan paused. "What would he think of _me_?" he asked softly.

"What do you mean?"

"He had the courage to try saving us. But look at me..." Jordan laughed bitterly. "All I'm brave enough to do is watch us die."

"That's not true-"

"Isn't it?"

"MonoWither is in control here."

"It doesn't have to be that way."

"You could get yourself killed, like Seth."

Jordan pressed his lips together. "And I just sat there and watched him die, too."

"There was nothing you could have done, you couldn't have known-"

"I know I couldn't have known, but..." Jordan sighed. "The thought won't leave me alone. And it sounds stupid, but it feels like Seth won't leave me alone either... Like his ghost is following me around or something... I can just feel his presence and I keep thinking he's there even though it doesn't make sense at all...!"

"...I don't think Seth would want you to think that way," Seto murmured.

"I can't help thinking that he's still there-"

"No, I meant thinking that you've failed him in some way. Seth wouldn't want you to believe that. It's not your fault at all."

"...I still feel like I should be doing _something_ , but thank you..." He took another long sip of his coffee and went silent. "Changing the subject, there's something else I've wanted to talk about."

"What?"

"You know how we got here? We were going to meet these 'Diamond Broadcasting Station' people and be part of this reality TV show, right?"

"Yeah."

"Is that really what happened, though?"

Seto frowned. "What do you mean? We had those letters-"

Jordan coughed. "I don't remember ever receiving a letter or coming here myself."

Seto's eyes widened. "You don't?"

"No. Not at all. Maybe it was the gas or something that screwed up my memories but I don't remember anything like that. I think I just went with it when I saw the letter in my pocket and assumed that was the case because that was what made sense..."

"...Well, Steven mentioned accidentally leaving his letter at home. Sky mentioned losing his. Mitch and Jerome were the ones who reminded me about it. And Bodil mentioned having to look up what his talent meant-"

"Well, do _you_ remember anything like that?"

Seto went silent, his mind churning desperately.

"...And that 'Henri Rennet' guy wasn't even real. I just can't imagine all 16 of us agreeing to go to meet some guy for a TV show deal without doing any of our research."

"But what about Jade? Why else would she be there if it wasn't because of the lottery?"

"I don't know, maybe I-" Before Jordan could finish his sentence, the whole building shook violently.

"Shit! Earthquake!" Jordan cried out, grabbing the now-awake Jerry tightly. They all dove underneath the table and shielded their necks.

"This seems too strong to be an earthquake..." Seto murmured.

The tremors ceased just as suddenly as they had started.

Jordan glanced at Seto nervously. "What... What was that all about-"

A huge explosion sound and a loud metal clang filled the air, cutting off Jordan's question. Seto hesitantly peeked out from beneath the table and saw...

"...Sunlight...?" Seto whispered in disbelief.

"What-? Sunlight-?" Jordan stammered, crawling over to where Seto was to see for himself. "Holy shit..."

A metal plate that had been covering one of the windows had been blown away and was lying on the opposite side of the cafeteria. They could see a bright blue sky through the opening.

It all seemed too good to be true. Jordan and Seto were paralyzed in shock, unable to figure out what to do. Was this even real?

That was when four men wearing black suits and dark sunglasses climbed inside. They raised what appeared to be tasers in a defensive stance as they looked around. One of them turned and stared at the two ducking underneath the table. Seto flinched and started crawling backwards in an attempt to hide, but Jordan stopped him.

The man's expression was unreadable behind his sunglasses as he placed a hand to the microphone on his ear. "Two captives found in the cafeteria. No sign of enemies. All clear."

Another man with tanned skin who looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s promptly climbed inside. Despite wearing the exact same gear as the rest of them, it was apparent from his authoritative stance and strong build that he was the leader. "Move quickly! Get the others before we lose control of the system!" he shouted in the microphone.

More explosions filled the air as the rest of the metal plates were blown off. Dozens of identically-dressed people filed inside and headed towards the bedroom hallway.

The four original men and the leader ran towards Seto and Jordan. "Get out from under there! This is a rescue mission! We are here to rescue you!" the leader shouted at them.

"How- How can we trust you?" Seto asked fearfully.

"Well you're going to have to, kid!" the leader replied as two of the men grabbed their arms and roughly pulled them out. "We don't have time on our side, we have to get going now!"

Left with no other choice, Seto and Jordan (who persisted in clutching Jerry tightly) were surrounded by the men and hustled towards the open window. "Name's Tristan Rey, by the way!" the leader said, jumping through the hole. "I'm the leader of Hope Organization!"

Seto and Jordan were quickly helped through the opening by the four others. Seto almost couldn't believe it when he felt his shoes touch real dirt. He looked up and saw a giant glass dome surrounding the vicinity, through which there were blue skies and white clouds...

"Don't get distracted, kids!" Tristan barked as the men pushed them forward. They all started sprinting across the grassy field. "We can't waste any time! We only have a few more minutes before whoever's keeping you here regains control over the system! And it took forever for us to break through the defenses!"

"You don't know who's keeping us here?!" Seto exclaimed.

"No! Not a clue! But that's not important, kid! Focus on reaching that Nether Portal over there!" Seto looked forward and saw a Nether Portal quite a distance away from them near the edge of the dome.

"Why- Why did you guys put it so far away?" Jordan huffed.

"That was the only place we could put it safely!" Tristan replied. "The Puppetmaster has got 99% of this place under tight control!"

"What about our friends?" Seto demanded, trying to look back at the building while running.

"We're getting them out too!"

"Even Bodil? He sleeps in the infirmary on the second floor because he's injured-"

"Yes, yes, we know! We've been forced to watched the entire damn thing since Day 1! Now focus on the Portal!" Tristan snapped.

The authority in his voice was enough to silence Seto for good. _They were forced to watch us?_

"If it'll make you stop getting distracted, all we know is that whoever put you there is a lone wolf who refers to themselves as the "Puppetmaster". They were once associated with the Order of the Ender Dragon somehow but turned on them. They don't have a specific goal, all they want is to bring despair to the entire world and have the greatest damn time while doing so."

"So were we really chosen because of a show?" Jordan asked.

"The show was real but filming hadn't officially started yet. It appears that the Puppetmaster altered the original cast themselves. That's why some of you distinctly remember being chosen while others not so much."

"Then what about Jade?" Seto asked. "Was she meant to be there?"

"...There was never a real lottery. Whoever chose Jade chose her specifically for reasons unknown. A personal vendetta is the most likely reason."

"What?! A personal vendetta against _Jade_?!"

"That's all I'm willing to tell you so far, now concern yourselves with reaching the Portal! That's the goal! It's not much farther now- What?" Tristan pressed the microphone to his ear. "Joey, repeat what you said!"

Seto had a horrible feeling about all of this...

"Joey?! Joey, can you hear me?! I'm losing you here! Joey?! JOEY!"

"Sir, all connections to HQ have been lost!" one of the men reported.

"Shit!" Tristan cursed. "How did the Puppetmaster regain power so quickly?!" He quickly regained his senses. "Whatever, we must continue the mission! Get all the captives to safety at all costs and reach the Portal-"

"AGH!" one of the men behind Seto and Jordan cried out as he collapsed to the floor. Jordan let out a cry of horror when he saw the arrow sticking out of the dead man's back.

Seto stopped and looked behind to see a black-and-white robot version of a skeleton aiming its bow and arrow towards them. The three remaining men immediately raised their tasers and fired dark-blue electromagnetic waves at the MonoSkeleton, which buzzed with electricity before exploding.

"There are more robots, sir!" one of the men shouted. "Hundreds of them!"

"We have to go, now!" Tristan ordered, grabbing both Seto and Jordan and tugging them away. The three men surrounded them, firing more shots at other robots to deter them.

"Wait- I can stay and help with my magic-!" Seto tried to say.

"No! Our mission is to rescue as many captives as we can!" Tristan shouted back. "We are not putting you in any more danger!"

"TAKE COVER!" one of the men yelled. Seto saw a shadow looming over him and looked up to see a huge MonoGhast flying towards them. It screeched and shot a bomb towards them. Seto raised his arms to cast a shield spell but was beaten to it by Tristan, who had pulled out his own taser. He fired a large, light-blue wave that deflected the bomb back towards the MonoGhast. The robot was blown back somewhat and it screeched again, but it didn't explode like the MonoSkeleton had.

"LOOK OUT!" another man shouted. A large MonoSpider with three rectangular heads lunged at them, fangs bared. The men all fired, but their blows bounced harmlessly off the MonoSpider. The robot tackled all three to the ground at once and sank its fangs into their chests as they all screamed in agony.

"NO!" Seto cried out, running towards them, but Tristan and Jordan pulled him back.

"Focus on the damn mission!" Tristan ordered again. "The Portal is right up ahead!"

The MonoSpider raised its three bloodstained heads and leaped towards them. Tristan aimed and fired a dark-blue wave at the middle head's gleaming red eye. The robot howled and stopped in its tracks as the middle head exploded.

"Look out for the MonoGhast!" Tristan shouted. The same MonoGhast as before swooped down behind them, almost at ground level. "What- What the hell is it doing-?"

Jordan suddenly screamed and fell forward, hitting the ground hard. Seto and Tristan stopped, realizing that Jordan and Jerry were trapped in a silky net that was attached to the back end of the MonoSpider, whose two other heads were still functioning.

"HELP ME! HELP ME! SETO!" Jordan shouted, writhing desperately in the net but unable to break free as the MonoSpider quickly pulled it back.

"I'M COMING JORDAN!" Seto cried out, chasing after him. He dove and grabbed onto the net, refusing to let go even as it dragged him across the dirt. Finally the net slipped from his grasp as the MonoSpider jumped onto the MonoGhast's side, sticking on it. The MonoGhast rose in the air, taking the MonoSpider and its captured prey with it.

The last thing Seto saw was Jordan holding on to Jerry and pushing against the net, his eyes wide open with fear as he screamed at Seto for help, before the MonoGhast flew away.

"No- No Jordan- No no no-" Seto stammered, his mind numb with shock. Still lying on the floor, he looked around, noticing how dozens of bodies were littered all over the rampaged field. Blood stained the once-green grass and explosions shook the ground at every other second. He could see Bonks, Bodil, Steven, and Jason in a similar predicament as Jordan as they were each flown around the building to an area that was out of eyeshot.

Someone grabbed the back of his cloak and pulled him up. "WE HAVE TO GO!" Tristan shouted, shaking him out of his thoughts, before pulling him away.

"No- No please- I'm sorry-" Seto whispered to himself, barely able to walk. He looked up and saw the purple glow of the Nether Portal. "No no no NO!" Seto shrieked, wrestling himself out of Tristan's grasp. "No- I have to help my friends-!"

"Listen kid, your friends aren't in real danger!" Tristan yelled, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him back. "The Puppetmaster wants them alive. This mission may have been a failure, but we can always try and rescue them again! Now get in the Portal!"

"No! NO!" Seto cried out, struggling against Tristan's iron grip. "They- They need to be free! I need to help them-!"

"And you _can_ help them, but not in there!" Tristan replied. "If you're safe with us at Hope Organization, this mission won't be a complete waste of time and lives!"

"No," Seto sobbed, refusing to listen. "Please- Just let me try to save one other person- Please..."

"Listen, kid!" Tristan snapped, grabbing his face and peering straight into his eyes. "I get what you're thinking. You've been through total hell with these people and you don't want to leave them back there again. If I was in your shoes I'd probably be saying the same thing. But you're not the only one who's lost friends, so forgive me if I sound heartless, but just forget about them for now and think about yourself! I've lost a bunch of mine from this mission alone, you hear me, kid?! You think I want them to die in vain?!"

"...Then I guess you'll understand why I'm doing this," Seto murmured, his brown eyes hardening.

Tristan's eyes widened. "What-"

Seto's hands glowed purple before he blasted Tristan backwards. Tristan yelled as he fell into the Portal, disappearing from sight.

Seto breathed heavily before staggering away. "Please... Someone... Anyone..." he whispered desperately, forcing back tears as he stepped over several dead bodies. "Don't let me be alone, please..."

The only ones left as far as he could tell were Annie, Tyler, and...

Seto halted in his tracks when he saw two familiar mobs. Bart was passed out on the floor, bleeding from his head. Dave was shaking the Enderman desperately when he turned to look at Seto. Seto swallowed, realizing that they had been separated from the captured Steven...

Seto wasn't sure if he could understand human language, but it wouldn't hurt to try. "Come- Come on, Dave! I'll get you out of here... We just have to go through the Nether Portal!" he said, reaching his hand out.

Dave stared at him for a few moments before tentatively raising his arm to accept his offer. Their hands almost touched when all of a sudden a rumbling sound filled the air. Before either of them could react, the ground beneath Bart and Dave gave way. Dave waved his arms wildly as the two mobs plunged down a deep, dark hole until they were out of sight.

"NO!" Seto shrieked in horror, reaching out to no avail. His heart pounded in his chest. Had he just witnessed their deaths? He knew that the Puppetmaster would want to keep Steven alive for the show, but Bart and Dave were different stories...

He'd been so close to saving Dave...

"HELP!" someone shouted in the distance, startling him from his thoughts. "SOMEONE! HELP ME!"

Seto quickly followed the sound and saw Tyler struggling to free himself from a net that had only trapped his lower half. His fingers scrabbled desperately at the dirt as the MonoSpider dragged him backwards. "NO! NO! LET GO OF ME!" Tyler shrieked, kicking his legs in vain.

Seto gritted his teeth in pure anger as he shouted, launching a harsh volley of magical blows at the robot. It took several before the machine finally released one last death screech and exploded, dropping the net.

"Seto!" Tyler gasped in relief. "You- You saved me!"

Seto rushed forward and helped Tyler wriggle his way out of the net. "Come on. We're the only ones left," he mumbled as he grabbed Tyler and pulled him away, breaking into a run.

Tyler's eyes widened. "No one else managed to escape?"

Seto blinked away tears. Now wasn't the time to lose it. He had Tyler, and that was better than nothing. "I don't know about Annie, but we have to hurry. The Portal isn't that far away-"

"LOOK OUT!" Tyler shrieked, shoving him to the ground. Seto heard the cry of a MonoGhast right before a bomb soared past them and exploded, making his ears ring.

"We have to hurry!" Seto repeated as he scrambled to his feet. They clutched each other's hands as they kept running towards the Portal.

Tyler suddenly started to cough and covered his mouth, staggering forward. "Gas-! It's a gas bomb-!"

Seto smelled the familiar, sweet scent and also started to cough. "Shit-! Keep going-! It's not much farther!"

They could hear the clambering of MonoMonsters behind them, chasing them down. Tyler's knees buckled as his legs gave way. "Go- Go on without me-!" Tyler choked out. "I'll only slow you down-!"

"NO!" Seto replied through his coughs as he continued dragging Tyler with him. "I... I'm not leaving you... I'm not leaving you behind... I'm not..."

The Portal was just a few feet away when another explosion shook the ground, knocking them both down face first.

"Tyler?!" Seto asked desperately. "Are you- Are you okay?!"

"S... Se... to..." Tyler mumbled, his eyes half-lidded. "I'm... so... rry..." His body struggled for a few more moments to stay awake before going limp.

The exploding sounds in the background were a distant fuzz. Seto clenched his jaw with determination as he continued holding onto Tyler with his left hand, despite his quivering muscles. He fought the overwhelming urge to succumb to unconsciousness. He could barely breathe, but he had to keep moving...

Still lying on the ground, Seto fought for control of his other arm as he struggled to raise it and reach forward. The swirling purple particles in front of him danced in his whirling vision, almost beckoning him. He was so close... So tantalizingly close... They could make it... He could save at least one person...

His fingertips were only a few inches away when all of a sudden red filled his vision and everything literally exploded in his face. The purple particles of the Nether Portal fizzled out as the obsidian blocks blew apart, sending up dust and dirt in their wake.

Seto's brown eyes were wide with shock and disbelief as he heard the almost-victorious cry of a MonoGhast behind him. His trembling arm was still stretched out to where the Nether Portal had just been only a few seconds ago.

_No... This isn't... happening... We were so... close... So close... Why...?_

Tears streamed down Seto's face as his eyes began drifting shut.

_**You utter failure!** a boy with red eyes chanted gleefully in his mind. **You failed! You failed!**_

Seto's arm limply dropped to the ground.

**_This is what you get! This is what you deserve! You couldn't even save one person!_ **

Seto collapsed, staring listlessly to the side. He could feel something pull Tyler away from him but didn't have the strength to react...

**_I guess you shouldn't have gotten your hopes up like that, huh?_ **

The last thing Seto registered was something tugging at his legs and dragging him away before his eyes slid shut and he thought no more.

* * *

**MONOWITHER THEATER**

**They say that when your life seems to be going nowhere, it's time for a change of environment. Don't you agree? We certainly do! But we think that the same philosophy also applies to reality TV shows, so you'd better stay tuned! Don't you dare change that channel (although there aren't any others left at this point)! If you do, we'll find you!**

**What's next after this, you ask? All we can say without spoiling anything is that after this dreadful cliffhanger, many things are about to change for our lovely characters...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: hey um I don't want to sound whiny or anything but I barely get any comments on here... I would really appreciate it if you left a little comment? Unless no one's reading this fic anymore then in which case never mind haha.)


	39. Please Enjoy Your Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Hey guys, it's been awhile, huh? Sorry, applying to colleges and getting a driver's permit are not easy tasks... But I had a bit of time to write so here you go!)
> 
> (Important heads-up, I have occasionally put trigger warnings for stuff like blood, gore, suicidal thoughts, etc in the beginning of certain chapters. From now on, I will no longer be putting warnings for potentially upsetting content that is typical of Withering Hope. The reason is that the warnings kind of spoil what will happen in the chapter. At this point in the story, you all should be prepared for this kind of stuff.)

_The red-winged creature pawed erratically at the cobblestone floor, whimpering and snuffling in agony as it shut its slitted eyes tightly. Its pale skin was severely cut and bruised._

_About two dozen torn, bloodied bodies were strewn around the humanoid creature, which was the only thing moving in the room. An empty milk canteen was beside it._

_One man, wearing the same black cloak as all of the corpses, stood a few feet away from the creature and stared down at it with a hardened, reproachful expression._

_"...Useless. Completely, utterly useless." His words cut the still air like claws tearing through flesh._

_The creature howled and writhed on the ground with anguished distress, tears streaming down its face._

_"You were so worthless to us, the only good thing left you could do was to let us dispose of you so we could make way for a newer, better creation. That's why I gave you the poison. Why couldn't you have just let the poison get rid of you? Why did you have to slaughter your superiors to save yourself? You were not created to desire personal subsistence. We made your sole desire in life to serve us. Are you somehow even more flawed than we thought?"_

_While one of the creature's eyes was swollen shut, the other one, crimson-red, shot open. The creature whined desperately._

_"...Pathetic," the man spat with contempt. "I thought, as my nephew, you would be stronger than this. But you share even more blood with your parents than I ever thought was possible. You're an utter nuisance, just like your mother, who blinded my brother and turned him into a weakling!"_

_The man's breathing grew more labored and anxious. "Henry and I should have led this Order together! We were destined for power, destined for control! But then your mother, that wretched monster, she persuaded my beloved twin brother to abandon his rightful role and lured him away with lies about love and hope! And now look where his love for her got him! He grew weak to the point where he couldn't even bear to live with himself, and now he's dead!"_

_The man took a deep breath and his green eyes glared pitilessly down at the creature. "...You sicken me. I thought if I took you while you were still young, I could turn you into the person Henry should have been. I thought I could erase all of what my corrupted brother had taught you, save you-! But no. I know better now. There are some things that can never be changed."_

_The creature cowered as the man stepped closer, raising a sword that glowed with an enchantment spell once he gripped its hilt. "Experiments fail every day, but the Order never gives up. When the Ender Dragon is slain, a new one is always reborn from its fallen remains._ __The Order never dies for the same reason. So you've killed all of my people here, think that'll stop me?_ _ _This is just one laboratory out of many. We have learned much from your failures..."_

_The man raised the sword. "And so it's time for me to put an end to all of this... and start anew...! Henry, I know this is what the real you would have wanted!"_

_The creature released a panicked howl right before the man brought the sword down. A harsh clanging sound rang in the air as the blade struck a quickly-formed magical barrier._

_The man's eyes widened. "You- You insolent-! Stop that!"_

_The creature screeched as it flapped its red wings to no avail, struggling to drag itself away from the man._

_"STOP FIGHTING! JUST DIE! DIE ALREADY! DIE! DIE! DIE!" the man shrieked, bringing the sword down again and again on the barrier. It was like something had shattered inside of him. Any self-control the man had possessed ceased to exist. His green eyes were filled with madness, flecks of saliva flew out of his mouth as he screamed at the creature, hell-bent on beating the barrier with his sword._

_Suddenly, the creature's high-pitched, desperate squeals deepened to low, heaving growls. The creature bared its fangs as its red pupils fixated on the raving, delirious man, who was too far gone to notice the change. When the man raised his sword again, the barrier suddenly disappeared and the creature roared as it lunged at him, tackling him to the ground and digging its claws into his flesh._

_The man cried out as he tried to cast a spell to defend himself, but it was too late..._

* * *

Seto's first conscious thought was about how _cold_ he felt. The man shivered and curled into himself, his goosebump-covered skin as frozen as a block of ice.

_Why... is it freezing..._

Seto wearily opened his eyes and exhaled weakly, trying to make out his surroundings through the pitch darkness. He was lying on a mattress of some sort and only wearing a T-shirt and boxer briefs. Seto's entire body shook as he forced himself to unfold and sit up. He concentrated for a bit before forming a magic ball of light in his hands, sighing as some warmth spread across his palms.

Gradually, more of his memories came flooding back. He remembered the people of Hope Organization breaking in, the robots that had attacked them, the attempt and failure to escape...

He found a lamp on the nearby nightstand and turned it on. Looking around, Seto could tell that he was in a bedroom of some sort, but this was not the same room as before. He raised his left arm and stared at what appeared to be a metal bangle around his wrist. There was a button that Seto considered pressing before he changed his mind. He had no idea what this bangle was for, but knowing MonoWither, it couldn't mean anything good...

What had the Puppetmaster done with them now?

Seto felt his body spasm violently and he rubbed his pale arms desperately. Perhaps the better question would be _How could he stop himself from getting hypothermia?_

He searched desperately for his cloak and outer garments, but all he could see was a folded black-and-white blanket lying on the foot of the bed. The freezing man immediately snatched the blanket and wrapped it around himself, shuddering. After a few minutes, Seto mustered the willpower to get off the bed and stand up. He put on a pair of slippers (one black and one white) that was neatly placed by the bed and staggered over to the thermostat next to the door.

_35 degrees Fahrenheit, 1.67 degrees Celsius, and 274.8 Kelvin._

Colorful language racing through his chilled and addled mind, Seto hammered the "TEMP UP" button repeatedly, almost drilling a hole into the device with his finger, but the numbers didn't change. When the temperature somehow dropped another degree, he gave up. He was positive he was going to freeze to death if he didn't get out now...

Still clutching the blanket tightly, Seto opened the door and left the room, stepping out into an empty hallway. The shift in temperature was overwhelming. Seto closed his eyes and sighed deeply, basking in the warmth for a moment. At least the rest of this strange building wasn't ridiculously frozen...

Suddenly Seto realized just how exposed he was without his cloak. He started to shiver again, this time not just because of the cold, and gulped nervously as he lifted the blanket so that it was draped over his head as well.

He'd find his cloak soon, right?

Seto hesitantly made his way out of the hallway to a room labeled "LOBBY". There, he saw a familiar machine hovering behind a counter.

"Hello, wonderful guest!" MonoWither exclaimed. "Are you enjoying yourself here at the All-Inclusive MonoWither Resort?"

Seto glared at them, his teeth chattering as he tried to speak. "Wh-What the h-hell is this?"

"You've reached the front desk! Please tell us if you're unsatisfied with any of our services."

"W-Well- I'm _not_ s-satisfied with the fact that- that my room is a- a- a- aaa..." Seto sneezed and sniffled miserably. "...a freezer..."

"Aw, what an adorable little kitten sneeze!" MonoWither cooed, earning an even more hateful glare from Seto. "Well, unfortunately, we can't fix that right now. Seems like the manager is reeeaaalllyyy unhappy with your conduct and messed with the thermostat out of spite! So either find another room or get used to the cold!"

"Well- Well I'd feel better- If I- I knew where my cloak was..." Seto mumbled, drawing his blanket closer to his body and shivering.

MonoWither giggled. "That's a surprise! We can't spoil anything!"

"Okay then- what is this?" Seto demanded, raising his left arm and showing the bangle before quickly covering his quivering arm with his blanket again.

"Yet another spoiler! Come on, can't you ask less revealing stuff?"

"Where... Where's everyone else?"

"Most of them are still in their rooms, but Annie's awake! She's enjoying our free breakfast in the dining room!"

Seto cringed, realizing that what little hope he'd had of having one person escape had died with that statement. With that, he shuffled away towards the dining room.

"We hope you enjoy your staaay!"

* * *

Annie was standing near the counter, staring at the food that was laid out before her.

"...Annie?"

At the sound of his voice, Annie whirled her head to stare at Seto, the unexpectedly furious intensity of her glare startling him. He couldn't seem to place it, but her face looked a little... different than usual. Maybe it was the weariness in her eyes? But that didn't seem right...

He noticed that she too had a metal bangle on her wrist.

Seto cleared his throat and spoke anyway. "Are... Are you okay?" he asked hoarsely.

"Don't fucking play innocent with me," she spat with contempt.

Seto's eyes widened. "A-Annie?"

"I know what you did. I saw you with my own eyes," she hissed, curling her hands into fists.

Seto backed away from her as she approached him like a hunter stalking its prey. "I- I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Cut the bullshit!" Annie shouted. "You're a traitor and you know it!"

"What-? No! No I'm not-"

If looks could kill, Seto would have been brutally hung, drawn, and quartered. "I knew I couldn't trust you!" the woman shrieked. "You lied to all of us!"

"What did I do?!" Seto yelled back desperately. "Why are you accusing me all of a sudden? I don't understand!"

"You and I both know you're one of the spies..." Annie murmured dangerously. "And don't you dare deny it..."

Seto opened his mouth to reply when all of a sudden Jordan barged in. "Have- Have you guys seen Jerry?" he asked desperately. "I can't find them! MonoWither won't tell me where they are!"

Annie and Seto were silent before the former finally spoke. "I haven't..."

Seto shook his head as well.

Jordan tugged at his hair and his sleeve lowered slightly to reveal a metal bangle on his wrist. "No no no- They never leave my side like this!"

"Jordan? Is that you I hear?" Tyler asked, stepping cautiously into the room. His glasses were gone and he was squinting. "Wait, that _is_ you!"

"What happened to your glasses?" Annie asked.

"I don't know Annie, I couldn't find them..." Tyler mumbled. "And it was super bad because apparently my room doesn't have any lights, according to Jason..."

"And I couldn't find my makeup kit..." Annie sighed. "I guess I was the only one with mirrors all over the walls in my room?"

"It seems like we've all lost something that belonged to us, then," Seto murmured. "And our room was changed to accommodate for this loss."

Tyler's eyes widened. "Seto?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper. "Is that you?"

Seto looked away, hoping Tyler couldn't see the shame on his face. "...Yes."

"You... You didn't... make it...?"

Seto stayed silent, unable to look at him in the eyes.

Tyler forced a smile and a casual laugh. "...I almost didn't recognize you, what happened to your cloak?"

"Gone... My room was freezing too... All I have is this blanket now..."

"This isn't good," Jordan muttered, wringing his hands nervously. "If- If MonoWither did something to Jerry..."

"Are the others awake?" Annie asked.

"Bodil, Bonks, and Jason should be here soon," Tyler said. "Bodil needed some help getting into his wheelchair. The floor in his room is really bumpy..."

"Did they lose anything as well?" Seto asked.

Tyler paused. "Bonks lost her sketchbook and I think Jason and Bodil lost their... personal memoirs..."

It didn't take much time for Seto to realize what he was referring to.

"So we've all lost things that belong to us? And we now have these weird bracelet things on our arms?" Annie asked, raising her left arm to show them hers.

"I'm too scared to press the button..." Tyler admitted.

"Yeah, who knows what messed up purpose these are for," Jordan muttered.

"...Maybe they're tracking devices," Seto reasoned.

"I guess that makes sense," Tyler replied, staring at the bangle carefully.

"Tch. MonoWither's acting up again... Think you could explain, Seto?" Annie glanced pointedly at him.

"I swear I'm not working for them!"

Jordan frowned. "What's going on?"

Annie clenched her teeth together. "I'll tell you when everyone gets here."

"There they are! I think..." Tyler said, squinting again. "Yep, I can see the wheelchair..."

Jason slowly pushed Bodil into the room, with Bonks following closely behind them. Seto quickly saw that all three of them had bangles as well.

"Is everyone okay?" Bonks asked.

"I hope no one got hurt..." Bodil mumbled, staring down at his legs.

Seto's eyes widened. "Did something happen?"

"N-No, it's just... I didn't really get very far before I got captured..." Bodil whispered.

"It was... terrible..." Bonks murmured softly, a faraway look glazing her eyes for a moment.

Bodil looked around. "Steven isn't here... Did he... Um... You know... Manage to...?" he asked before trailing off.

Seto shook his head. "No, he was captured like the rest of us."

"Damn it," Jason cursed. "Damn it damn it damn it DAMN IT!" The brunette, who was still holding the wheelchair handles, suddenly tightened his grip. Bodil flinched as his wheelchair began to shake under the tension. "We- We were so close- How could this happen?!"

"I think I have the answer to that," Annie muttered dangerously.

Jason stopped and stared at her curiously. "You do?"

"When Steven gets here, I'll tell you all what I saw..."

Seto stared at her in utter bewilderment. He knew that Annie had never trusted him ever since he'd tried to kill Bonks, but now she was claiming that she had evidence against him? What had she supposedly seen him do?

 _"Well well well, it seems like we're ready to begin!"_ MonoWither exclaimed, appearing before them. "Hello, and welcome to All-Inclusive MonoWither Resort! We thought that you guys were getting really tired of the old place, so we took it upon ourselves to send you on a surprise getaway vacation! Of course, the show never stops..."

"I don't want to stay any longer!" Bodil cried out.

"Why do you want us to stay with you so badly?!" Jason shouted. "Why couldn't you just let us go!"

"Where would the fun in cutting our beloved show short be?!" MonoWither asked. "No one likes it when the shows they watch get canceled halfway through the season!"

"When does the season end then?!" Bonks demanded.

"That's all up to you guys!"

"Are you just doing this for your own amusement, or is there a bigger purpose?" Seto hissed. "The effort you put into keeping us here, all those robots you have... What's your real motive?"

MonoWither paused. "Interesting question, Seto, you always ask the most armor-piercing questions... As expected of our protagonist!"

Annie stared at him with somehow even more suspicion than before.

"Well well, whatever. Let's just get on with the meeting, head over to-"

"Wait, but what about Steven?" Bonks asked. "He isn't here yet."

MonoWither rolled their eyes. "Ah, who cares about him? He'll come whenever he wants."

Tyler's eyes narrowed. "What's with that tone?"

"Yeah, you never leave people out of your meetings..." Jordan murmured.

"Did you do something to him?!" Jason demanded.

"D-Did we do something to him? What a very accusatory question!" MonoWither exclaimed.

"A question that you didn't answer," Annie muttered.

"Well there's no point worrying about him, we swear we didn't hurt him at all!"

"I don't believe you!" Bonks shouted. Before MonoWither could respond, she ran out of the room.

"Hey, where are you going? What about the meeting?!" MonoWither demanded.

The rest of the participants looked at each other before quickly following Bonks. (Jason pushed Bodil, who was struggling to move his wheelchair with his hands.)

"Come back here! We wanted to get to the exciting part!" MonoWither shrieked from the dining room that was now behind the group. "We- We have free cookies?"

* * *

Bonks knocked on the door with Steven's nameplate as hard as she could. "Steven? Steven!" she shouted hysterically.

"How do we even know if he's in there?" Bodil asked.

"Where else would he be?" Jordan responded.

"G-Good point..."

After about 10 seconds of knocking, Bonks lowered her hand. "He isn't answering..." she whispered.

"Are these doors magic-proofed too? Can you bust in somehow?" Tyler asked, turning to Seto.

Seto shook his head. "My magic wouldn't do anything..."

"Then how are we supposed to get in?!" Jason demanded.

Annie placed a hand on the door, testing it. "Maybe I could try and kick it down-"

"-Or maybe you should just give up!" MonoWither cut in.

Bonks whirled around angrily. "Why do you hate Steven so much?!"

"H-Hate? Hate's a very strong word! We love him just as we love all of you participants equally! Of course, that love can never compare to the love we have for our dear protagonist-"

"What the hell did you do to him?!" Jason shouted. "I know you did something!"

"Trust us, we didn't hurt him! Just let him stay in bed for a little longer, geez!"

"Just do what we want and let us in his room!" Tyler yelled.

"Fine fine fine, we promise we'll let you in, but first you must answer this riddle! What's soft, blue, and red all over?"

"Oh no, I'm bad at riddles..." Bodil murmured sadly.

Annie sighed in exasperation. "Do we really have to waste time figuring this out?"

"Well we're not letting you in unless you answer it! And good luck trying to kick down the door! That thing is firm!"

Jordan frowned. "Um... a bird...?"

MonoWither gagged. "Bo-ring! Come on Jordan, what kind of entertaining riddle of our creation would have such a lame answer!"

Jason rolled his eyes. "How in the world are we supposed to answer such a vague question? Soft? Blue? Red all over?"

"It should be easy enough! You've all seen it, after all!"

"What? We have?" Bonks asked, stunned. "I don't remember anything like that..."

"All right, move out of the way," Annie ordered. "I'm gonna kick down the door-"

"Jade's dress," Seto mumbled.

Tyler flinched. "Seto?!"

"Oooh, what's that?" MonoWither asked, grinning. "Say that a little louder!"

"...It's Jade's dress, isn't it?"

Bodil's face paled. "No! Not that! No no no!"

Jason looked ready to vomit. "Seto, what the hell is wrong with you-"

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" MonoWither flew up to Seto, opened their three mouths, and fired confetti in his face. Seto cringed. "Well, a promise is a promise! Take a look inside... if that's what you really want..."

MonoWither disappeared right before a clicking sound was heard in the door. Bonks wasted no time in pushing down the doorknob and shoving her way inside. "Steven? Steven!" she shouted in the darkness. The others all rushed in as well, but none of them could hear a response.

"I hear something..." Annie whispered. "It's too soft for me to figure out what it is, though..."

"Where are the lights?" Jordan asked.

"Great, don't tell me this is like Tyler's room all over again..." Jason muttered.

Tyler sighed. "Well, I'm just gonna stay back here just in case- OH CRAP-!"

"Ow, my arm!" Bodil cried out.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Tyler stammered. "Didn't see your wheelchair there-"

"Found them!" Seto said before flicking on the light switch on the wall.

The moment the lights turned on, Bodil took one look in front of him before shrieking in horror and shielding his eyes. "IT'S NOT REAL!"

"What the fuck?!" Jason shouted, his face paling.

"Oh god..." Jordan whispered in horror.

Tyler squinted. "What is that?"

Seto turned around and noticed that the floor and walls were made out of cobblestone, reminding him of a prison. That was when he looked at what was on the ground right in front of him, or rather _who_...

The sight was startling enough to send chills racing up and down his spine. Steven was lying on his side next to the bed, facing them. His hands were tied behind his back and his legs were bound tightly as well. There was a black blindfold covering his eyes and a white gag pressing deeply into his mouth. His body was completely still; the only indication he was even alive was the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed shakily through his nose.

"Steven!" Bonks cried out, running to his side and kneeling down. "Wh-What happened to you-? Who did this-?"

The moment she placed her hand on his shoulder, Steven suddenly bucked like a wild animal. Muffled shrieks filled the air as he struggled to move away from her and writhed desperately in his bonds.

"Steven, it's me, it's Bonks!" Bonks pleaded. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise!"

Steven didn't seem to hear what she was saying since his panicked squirming only seemed to intensify, especially when she tried unsuccessfully to remove his blindfold.

Bonks turned to face the group, which was standing paralyzed in shock by the entrance. "Don't just stand there! Help me get him out of these ropes!" she shouted hysterically.

Seto stepped forward and knelt down beside her, letting the blanket fall to the ground. "Give him some space and don't touch him. He's scared, he can't see you."

Bonks removed her hand from his shoulder and moved backwards. "O-Okay...! Sorry!"

"Steven?" Seto asked softly. "It's me, Seto."

Steven's nostrils flared as he struggled to breathe.

"I'm going to take off your blindfold so you can see us."

Steven whimpered through the gag.

"Everything will be okay, just stay still for me," Seto murmured before grabbing the blindfold. Steven panicked again as he jerked violently, but Seto used his other hand to pin him down as he removed the blindfold. Steven's eyes were shut tightly, but there were tears streaming down his face.

"You can see now," Seto said as calmly as he could, placing the blindfold on the floor.

Steven's eyes shot open, his black pupils dilated with absolute fear and terror as they darted around the room.

"Steven?" Bonks asked tentatively. "We aren't going to hurt you..."

Steven's eyes focused on her for a few moments as he relaxed, albeit barely.

"How are we going to get the rest of the stuff off of him without a knife?" Tyler asked.

Bonks stared at her hands. "I... I don't know if I could do it without cutting him..."

Steven wriggled as he made more muffled sounds, this time as though he was trying to speak. Seto tugged the gag down so it hung loosely around Steven's neck instead.

"M-M-My pocket..." Steven stammered, panting for breath, his hoarse voice a bare whisper. "S-Something's... in my pocket..."

Seto reached in and pulled out the hilt of a dagger. His eyes widened and he and Bonks looked at each other, both recognizing the silver yin-and-yang symbol.

"Are you gonna help him out, or are you gonna just sit there?" Annie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Seto pushed the issue of the dagger in the back of his mind as he moved Steven so that he was in a kneeling position. Then he went behind him and began carefully cutting the ropes around his wrists, making sure he didn't cut Steven by accident.

"God, you almost gave us a heart attack..." Jason said, laughing nervously. "Seeing you just lying there... all tied up like that... totally motionless..."

Steven didn't say anything. He just stared blankly into space.

"MonoWither did this to you, right?" Bodil asked.

No response.

"That's most likely what happened," Jordan murmured. "MonoWither wanted to leave Steven here all tied up and alone for a long time, that's why they wanted to start the meeting without him..."

"That's so messed up!" Tyler exclaimed. "Why would they do something so sadistic- You know what, I don't even have to ask anymore..."

The severed ropes around Steven's arms fell to the floor. Steven quickly brought his hands in front of him and rubbed the numb, reddened skin that was chafed raw from the ropes. That was when he noticed the metal bangle on his left wrist. His face paled in horror as he stared at it.

Seto began cutting the ropes around his legs.

"Yeah, we have no idea what these bracelets are either," Bonks murmured.

"Anyone brave enough to press the button?" Tyler asked.

"No, of course not..." Bodil replied shakily.

"Seto said that they could be tracking devices," Jordan said.

"That would make sense, I guess," Jason admitted, shivering. "I pressed the button, but nothing happened."

"MonoWither really means business now..." Annie muttered with a sigh.

"There, all done," Seto said as he finished cutting the ropes, but Steven didn't react.

"...Where... Where's Bart and Dave...?" Steven asked softly, his voice hollow and empty.

Seto inhaled sharply, his stomach twisting inside of him.

No one knew what to say.

"...Where's Bart and Dave...?" Steven repeated.

"No idea, we didn't see them anywhere..." Jason replied hesitantly.

"H-Hey, maybe they escaped-!" Bodil suggested optimistically.

"...No..." Seto mumbled. "I... I saw them get captured..."

All of the blood drained from Steven's face as his pupils dilated once more. He opened his mouth as though he was trying to say something, but no words came out.

"I'm- I'm sorry Steven, I tried to save them, but- but I-!" Seto looked away, too ashamed to say anything further.

"Steven?!" Bonks exclaimed.

Steven's chest heaved as he started to hyperventilate wildly.

"Don't- Don't panic! I'm sure they're okay!" Tyler piped up.

"There would be no good reason... for them to hurt Bart and Dave..." Jordan murmured, although everyone knew he was thinking of a certain slime that was also missing...

Steven started to tremble violently as he wrung his hands together. Tiny, stifled whimpers escaped his lips as he took deep, shuddering breaths, but he still couldn't speak a word.

 _"We did warn you, Steven..."_ MonoWither hissed, emerging out of nowhere.

Steven stiffened at the sound of that terrible, modulated voice.

"Didn't we say that if you didn't keep your monster friends in line, we'd be forced to take _drastic_ measures? Now you get the wonderful experience of being all alone without your precious pals! Better get used to it, Steven... Or your life is going to be hell..."

Steven choked out a lost, horrified sob of anguish as MonoWither's words registered in his panicking mind.

"Why would you do that to Bart and Dave?!" Jason shouted.

"Well, first you should look at what you all did. At the first sight of freedom, all of you immediately tried to escape! It hurts that you didn't want to follow the rules and stay in the filming area!"

"Why would we?! Our friends died here because of your stupid show!" Annie thundered.

"But we gave you so much more fame and attention than any of you could ever imagine! So ungrateful!"

"That doesn't mean you can just take our things away!" Tyler argued.

"On the contrary! Of course it does! You tried taking our beloved show away from the spotlight, a show that we put all of our heart and soul into, so naturally we decided to return the favor and take away all of your most treasured possessions! Hah! Doesn't feel nice, doesn't it?!"

Seto shivered and covered himself with the blanket once more.

"My most treasured possession is definitely not my makeup kit," Annie muttered.

"Well if that's what you think, then maybe you should look at yourself in the mirror more often-"

"Jerry is _not_ a possession!" Jordan yelled. "You- You have no right to call them that just so you can lock them away somewhere-"

"Well, well, too bad. Mob "friends" and little pets are possessions in our book. We make the rules around here! Even though you may not want to follow them, we're still the ones enforcing them!"

"Wh-What did you do with our stuff then?!" Bodil asked hysterically. It was a question that everyone, especially Jordan and Steven, had been to afraid to ask.

"Oh? You want the answer to that? Well then... It's time for that meeting we were talking about earlier..." MonoWither cleared their throats. "Ahem! Please head over to the lobby! It's time for exciting new developments in our show! What kind of developments, you may ask? Perhaps there's a new motive, perhaps there's a brutal punishment, perhaps perhaps perhaps! Just stay tuned and don't change that channel, we'll be right back with you guys soon! Upupupu!"

Seto looked around, observing the despair-filled expressions on everyone's faces. At this point, only half of the original participants were still alive...

...how many more would perish under the hands of the mysterious, sadistic Puppetmaster?


	40. Poisoned Betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my long-time friend TheKungFuFerret from DeviantART, who had to deactivate unexpectedly. Not sure if you'll read this, but I hope that you're happy wherever you are and that someday we'll be able to talk again ^_^)

The participants all gathered in the lobby, too apprehensive to speak.

"Come on, take a seat! These sofas and chairs are very comfy!" MonoWither exclaimed.

No one moved.

"Aw, fine. Whatever you want, as long as you're fully relaxed! But just a word of advice: you might want to take a seat for this!"

"Just tell us what you did to our 'possessions'!" Jordan snapped.

"Oh, well, we actually wanted to start off with something else!" MonoWither said. "There's still something we need to discuss..."

"Like what?" Jason asked shakily.

"Hmmm, we don't know, maybe like your _attempt to escape_?!"

Everyone flinched guiltily.

"They- They TOLD us to escape!" Bodil stammered. "They carried me out of there! I had no choice- _We_ had no choice-"

"To be honest, we didn't want things to come this way," MonoWither confessed, hovering around the group. "But after what you've all done, there's no way we can ignore it. You know what this means?"

They were all too afraid to speak.

MonoWither's red eyes gleamed as their grins widened. "It means... that someone must be punished..."

"You can't do this!" Jason shouted in horror.

"Exactly!" Annie yelled. "We never broke any of your stupid rules!"

"You didn't? But explain Show Rule Number 1!"

**1\. The show participants will live a communal lifestyle with no time limit inside the filming area.**

"You all left the filming area and thus you all broke the first rule! Gosh, do any of you follow directions?"

Bodil screamed. "No! I'll do anything, please don't kill us!"

"Tsk, tsk, Bodil, didn't you understand us? We only said 'someone' must be punished, not all of you!"

"But- But who?" Bonks asked, her voice shaking as she moved her arm defensively in front of Steven.

"Well, we're going to leave that to the cruel mistresses of luck and fate!" Everyone backed up instinctively as MonoWither levitated a metal spear and pointed it at them.

"C-Can't we talk about this?!" Tyler squealed, staring at the sharp point with absolute terror.

"I thought you didn't want any more deaths that weren't murders or executions," Seto hissed.

"There's only eight of us left," Jordan muttered. "Are you really sure you want to get rid of one more person?"

"Well, well, we also don't want you guys trying to escape! So it pains us to say that there's no convincing us otherwise. We've been far too soft on you all! We need to stamp out all that unacceptable behavior once and for all!"

"We- We promise! We won't do it ever again!" Bodil shrieked.

"Silence!" MonoWither commanded, shaking the spear.

Everyone obeyed, too afraid to defy them.

MonoWither waved the spear back and forth, pointing at each of them one by one. "Now, now, don't you dare move an inch! If we miss, we might make the punishment even more agonizingly slower! We have precise aim, so we're sure it'll only hurt for a split second!"

Steven suddenly pushed Bonks' arm away as he slowly stepped forward, his head bowed.

"What are you doing?!" Bonks hissed frantically.

Steven stopped when his chest was just a few inches away from the spear's sharp tip. He raised his head slightly, staring at it with deadened eyes.

"Steven, get back here!" Tyler begged.

MonoWither suddenly burst into peals of laughter. "Ohhh this is precious! Are you trying to make a noble sacrifice by offering your own life? You don't have the guts..."

Steven's entire body shook like a leaf, betraying his fear as he clutched the spear in his hands and raised it so that it was pointing at his forehead.

Bodil let out a frightened wail and shielded his eyes. "This isn't happening!"

" _Steven!_ " Bonks squealed in horror.

"Let go of that right now!" Jordan demanded.

"Don't you dare!" Annie shrieked.

"It doesn't have to be this way!" Jason pleaded.

"No no no no- please no-!" Tyler stammered, looking away.

"What about Bart and Dave?!" Seto asked desperately. "If you die now, who knows what the Puppetmaster will do to them!"

Steven visibly flinched and his grip on the spear wavered. In that moment of hesitation, MonoWither wrenched the spear away. "You should listen to Seto! Besides, we want this to be OUR random choice, and there's nothing you can do to change that! Get back with the group!"

Bonks rushed forward to grab Steven and pull him back.

"Now then, on to business! Bet you regret trying to make Steven stop, huh? Honestly, none of you are practical..."

Everyone tensed as MonoWither aimed the spear again. Bodil let out a whimper.

**_"_ _Eenie_ _,_ _meeny_ _,_ _miny_ _, mo, catch a creeper by the toe..."_ **

As MonoWither shifted the spear to point at a different person with each word, quite a few people shut their eyes tightly and shielded themselves with their arms, as though that would protect them.

**_"...If it hisses let it blow,_ _eenie_ _meeny_ _miny_ _..."_ **

MonoWither's fangs glinted in the light as their grins widened, locking in on their chosen target.

_**"...mo."** _

The sound of the spear firing rang through the air like a gunshot.

Seto suddenly raised his arms and formed a shield around everyone, his eyes pressed shut as he prayed that he'd been fast enough.

"...Seto?" Tyler whispered in a stunned voice.

Shocked murmurs filled the room.

Seto forced himself to open his eyes and look forward. What he saw, he almost couldn't believe...

No one had been struck with the spear. But at the same time, no spear was stuck in his shield. So where...?

Tyler tapped his shoulder and pointed at the lobby desk off to the side. "It sounded like it went that way..."

Indeed, the spear had struck a button on the desk's surface. Seto let the shield disappear, too stunned to speak.

MonoWither cackled. "THE _LOOKS_ ON YOUR FACES! YOUR EXPRESSIONS! OHOHOHO! THE UTTER DESPAIR, THIS IS JUST WHAT WE HOPED FOR!"

"What- What what what- We're all still alive?!" Jason stammered incredulously.

Bodil burst into tears of relief. "THANK YOU FOR YOUR MERCY!"

Bonks laughed a little, sighing loudly, but Steven's face still looked grave.

"This seems too good to be true," Annie muttered shakily.

"What's that button for?" Jordan asked suspiciously.

"So glad you asked! We mean, we never lied when we mentioned that a punishment was in store... So why don't you all sit down and watch this special episode of _Super Duper_ _Minecrafters_!"

"Special episode?" Seto echoed in confusion before Tyler grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down so he was sitting on the sofa behind them.

"Relax, we assure you that none of you are at risk of getting hurt! Yet!"

A rather large TV screen on the wall in front of them flickered on.

"All right, we're live! Now, you might recognize these uniforms..."

Seto saw a group of 16 people (8 men and 8 women) standing in an empty cobblestone room and looking around, disoriented and confused. Seto's face paled when he realized that they were all wearing familiar business suits.

" _Hellooo_ , Hope Organization!" MonoWither greeted maliciously. "How are you all doing? Come on, smile for the cameras!"

"Where are we?!" one woman asked. Seto noticed that she, as well as all the others, had a sticker on her chest that said "HELLO, MY NAME IS" on the top. This woman had "Jasmine" crudely written in marker on the nametag.

"Aw come on, uh, Jasmine? Boy, are we glad we gave you nametags, it makes the job so much simpler for any writers describing this scene out there! But your names, they really sound like someone just used a random name generator because of how insignificant you guys are... Anyway, you're on live television in front of the whole world, and all you can say is a generic question? Lame! No wonder the rest of the organization left you guys behind when they aborted their rushed mission!"

"L-L-L-Left behind?" a man with "Don" on his nametag stammered. "Oh- Oh no-"

"I don't want to die!" a woman named "Camille" shrieked hysterically.

"Pull yourself together!" another woman, "Geneva", snapped.

MonoWither cackled. "Yes, yes, she's got the right idea! Now's not the time to start panicking! Now's the time to assess your situation and catch your bearings, realize the utter hopelessness of your situation, _then_ you start panicking!"

"What happened to the mission?" a man named "Philip" asked hesitantly.

"The mission? A complete failure! None of the participants were rescued!" MonoWither stated gleefully.

"Michael" stepped forward. "How can we believe you?! All you do is deceive and manipulate others!"

"We had our best people on this mission!" a "Raymond" demanded.

"Hey, hey, not our fault you guys weren't prepared enough! Don't believe us? When have we ever lied?!"

"Krystal" raised her arm. "I think the most important question is what these bracelets are!"

Seto instinctively covered his with the blanket he was still wearing.

"Oh yes, how observant you are! All of you have these special metal bangles, just like our wonderful participants! And what better time to explain these than now! You see, right now when you push the button, nothing happens right?"

"Just get on with it!" snapped "Jonathan".

"All right, geez! Well that's just because we haven't activated them yet! Go ahead, look at yours now!"

All 16 of them hesitantly pressed the button on their bangle, which glowed red as words flashed on the metal. Suddenly, a woman gasped in pain as an 8-bit tune rang out.

"Uh oh, looks like Ida already kicked the bucket!"

Everyone reacted in horror, screaming and backing away, as the convulsing Ida stared at her bangle with dilating pupils, choking loudly. The camera zoomed in on her bangle, which displayed "READING YOUR FORBIDDEN ACTION" prominently. It took about 10 seconds before Ida's eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed to the floor, dead.

The 8-bit tune rang out a second time.

"Julian, really? You had time to shield your eyes, you know!"

Poor Julian also convulsed uncontrollably as he sunk to his knees, gagging, before falling limply to the floor. "WITNESSING A PERSON'S DEATH" continued to flash across his bangle before fading out.

"WHAT- WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" a woman named "Natasha" shrieked in confusion.

"THEY DIED, JUST LIKE THAT?!" a "Terry" exclaimed, horrified.

"Well well well, don't fret too badly! They're just the super expendable characters whose only purpose is to have a horrific death scene that proves the antagonist's cruelty! But anyway, each of you guys has a different 'Forbidden Action'! If you commit the act that is on your bangle, you will be swiftly injected with a poison that'll leave you dead in no time! Oh, and don't bother trying to break it. If you tamper with it, you'll get injected anyway!"

Seto quickly pressed the button on his bangle, but nothing happened. He figured that MonoWither hadn't activated theirs yet.

"What the hell do you want with us?!" a "Salvador" demanded with a shaky voice.

"Oh, did we forget to tell you? Well, we tend to forget a lot of things, but you're all special guests who are going to participate in our special episode!"

"S-Special episode?!" a woman named "Jenna" echoed, terrified.

"Upupupu! Things are getting a little, how should we put it? Routine-based. There's some free time events, then there's a motive, then there's a murder, then there's an investigation, then there's a trial- Not that this is bad or anything, but we just need to spice things up a little so the audience doesn't get bored!"

"N-No one's watching your stupid show willingly!" Geneva snapped.

"Boo hoo, you're just a hater... Well anyway, you wanna know what this special episode's gonna be about?"

"Y-You're gonna kill us, aren't you?" Philip asked.

MonoWither grinned, even though the Hope Organization members couldn't see. "No, _we're_ not the ones who are gonna kill you... After all, this episode's about a mini-Killing Game!"

"Killing Game?! What do you mean by that?!" Don shouted.

"Oh come on, you Hope Organization members can't possibly be this dense! What else could it mean, we have a swell time sitting in the garden and weaving flower crowns for each other?! Obviously, you're the ones who're gonna do the dirty deed! It's a chaotic free-for-all! You're all going to murder each other until one person is left standing! If you want to live, sacrifice these supposed friends of yours!"

"How can you be this sadistic?!" Krystal questioned.

"Don't ask us, ask the people who did this to us if you meet them in hell! Anyway, there's only one rule. That is, you must use the bangles as the means of killing one another! Which means you gotta keep your Forbidden Action hidden while you figure out those of the others!"

The remaining 14 members looked around at each other, tensing instinctively.

"No- No way!" a woman who hadn't spoken before cried out. Seto saw that the name "Angelique" was written on her name tag.

"Oh? You don't want to play the game? That hurts our _~fee-wings~_..."

"Come on, everyone! You can't fall into the Puppetmaster's trap! They always do stuff like this! You know this!" Angelique exclaimed.

"Hope Organization is a joke!" MonoWither shouted. "Look at the rescue mission, you failed miserably! You saved no one! And your group head, what was his name? Oh yes, Tristan Rey! He abandoned you all, including the participants, just to save his own skin!"

Seto's face blanched. "N-No- That isn't true- No no no-" he mumbled without thinking. Tyler stared at him with confused concern.

"Tristan would never do that!" Jasmine claimed.

Murmurs of assent filled the room.

"How can you be so sure?" MonoWither asked. "How much loyalty do you place in that man? What has he ever done for you?"

"Tristan saved our lives!" Michael shouted.

"He founded Hope Organization for the good of the world!" Natasha pointed out.

"Yeah, without him, millions of people would be dead!" Terry declared.

"He earned our loyalty for a reason!" Raymond yelled.

"Well... You say that, but if he was such a good leader, would you all be here in this hopeless situation?"

"It's not his fault, it's yours!" Jenna shouted.

"So you're all prepared to die for his sake?"

"As long as we can prove to the world that your plans don't always work, we would gladly give up our lives!" Jonathan boasted.

"See? We will never succumb to your despair!" Angelique declared proudly. "Did you really think you could convince us to play your game?"

"Blegh! This is just disgusting!" MonoWither cried out. "You and your stupid little hope, what good will that do for you in the end? Hope only leads to despair!"

"You can torture us, you can kill us, but as members of Hope Organization, we would _never_ kill our beloved friends-!"

 _-_ _FWIP_ _!-_

Angelique choked out a startled gasp as she stopped speaking. For a moment, everyone stared at her in confusion.

Then they noticed the poisoned dart sticking out the side of her neck.

"ANGELIQUE!" Salvador screamed, rushing forward as her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the floor. He knelt by her limp body, checking her vitals desperately. "No- No no no- Angie- Angie please- This can't be happening- Don't leave me like this-!"

"Oh no, wasn't she the love of your life? So sad that marriage of yours only lasted for a little while..." MonoWither taunted. "Oh! How did we know that? Hmm, well we don't really want to spoil, but... maybe, just maybe, not to confirm anything in case we're lying... Maybe there's a spy involved?"

"You have to be lying!" Don shouted.

"A spy? No, no that can't be..." Krystal whispered.

"See what we meant about hope? Putting faith in your friends gets you nothing but betrayal! And Hope Organization? Tristan? Think about what they've _really_ done for you. Think about your mission to eradicate despair. How's that working out for you all? Is this world really worth saving? Is this world really worth 'honorably' sacrificing yourselves for?"

"No- Shut up-!" Philip cried out, covering his ears.

"Hmm, maybe this calls for a song... Ooh, we know the perfect one! And who cares about copyright anyway!" MonoWither coughed and started to play a song over the PA system.

[Laura Shigihara- From the Ground Up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLKFtIC2Idw)

_Yesterday it rained_  
_Watched everything wash away_  
_It took some time to dry_  
_Before I could feel okay..._

Salvador's heartbroken sobs filled the room as he bowed his head over Angelique's body, wailing in anguish.

Hesitantly, Raymond stepped forward. "S-Sal... I'm... I'm so sorry..." he whispered, kneeling down beside him.

Salvador went quiet.

"This shouldn't have happened..." Raymond continued. "But... But we're here for y-"

Before anyone could react, Salvador suddenly grabbed Raymond's wrist and pressed the button on his bangle.

_"BEING HIT WITH A PUNCH"_

Raymond squealed and wrenched his arm away. "Sal, what the-?!"

Everyone screamed as Salvador pinned him down to the ground and started punching his face repeatedly. His shouts of fury were so loud, the tune that rang out as the bangle lit up could barely be heard. "WAS IT YOU?! WAS IT YOU?! WAS IT YOU?!" Salvador screamed as he beat the poor man's face to a bloody pulp over and over, even after the poison had already taken his life.

The 11 others backed away, too shocked and horrified to try to stop the man who had lost his mind.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Natasha shrieked, shielding her eyes.

"You- You _killed_ him!" Jasmine exclaimed.

Salvador finally stopped raining blows on the corpse's face and stood up, glaring at them with rage-filled eyes.

"Someone... Someone here... killed _her_..." he whispered.

"No no no, you can't listen to the Puppetmaster! This- This spy thing, it has to be a lie!" Don argued.

"It all makes sense now... Why else would this mission have failed so horribly?!" Camille suddenly cried out hysterically. "The- The Puppetmaster was _prepared_ \- They managed to take back the system much faster than we expected! That means that they knew we were going to rescue them!"

Horrified murmurs of realization broke out, the chaos quickly spreading like a wildfire from one lit match.

 _I used all my tools_  
Foundation of clay  
You kept digging this hole  
But climbing's not my forte...

Don's face was deathly pale. "C-Camille, how could you- That can't be right-! None of us would spy for-"

"How do we know _you're_ not the spy?!" Michael suddenly shouted, jabbing his finger at Don.

Don's eyes widened. "No! I- I swear-!"

"If- If that's true- then- then-!" Camille suddenly reached into her pocket and pulled out a hunting knife. "I have to stop this!"

She lunged forward, but Geneva grabbed her from behind and held her back. "Think, you idiot! We can't fight violence with more violence!"

Camille struggled to free herself from Geneva's grip. "Let- Let go- You're the one who isn't THINKING!"

"Be rational! You're just jumping to conclusions!" Geneva shouted.

"No- I'm just trying- to protect everyone! Let go of me!" Camille shrieked. Without thinking, she brought down the knife and plunged it into Geneva's bangle, cracking it.

MonoWither whistled softly. "Well, we did say that the bangles had to be used as the means of killing someone... We guess that tampering with it like that works!"

Geneva let go of her, gasping as the poison rapidly took effect. "Wh-Why-?" she choked out, staring at her with stunned betrayal. "Why- Why would you-?"

Camille stared back at her, shell-shocked. "I- I just- I just wanted to get rid of the spy-!"

Unable to reply, Geneva collapsed to the floor, dead.

"The spy... The spy..." Camille whispered, backing away. Then she looked around, noticing everyone's horrified stares. "Don't- Don't look at me like that- Stop-! It's just- It's just that I CAN'T TRUST ANY OF YOU!" she shrieked, lunging at Don with the knife.

Don rolled to the side, dodging her, and pulled out his taser. He fired a green electromagnetic wave at her bangle, which promptly activated with the 8-bit jingle.

_"PHYSICALLY TOUCHING ANOTHER FOR 10 SECONDS"_

Camille screamed in agony, clutching her wrist as she fell to the ground beside Geneva.

The tension in the air turned bitter, bitter like gasoline poured on a raging fire.

_Take what you need_

_We can fight our enemies_ _But we have to hurry before_ _the world crumbles around us..._

"No- No no no- We can't actually be doing this!" Jenna shrieked.

"Why are we killing each other?!" Terry cried out.

"I HAD NO OTHER CHOICE!" Don wailed, dropping his taser and burying his face in his hands.

"Don! Behind you!" Jasmine screamed, but her warning was too late.

Salvador coldly walked over and plunged his hunting knife in Don's back. Don opened his mouth and coughed up crimson blood before his body cruelly pushed aside. Salvador reached for the button on his bangle to finish the final blow.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Philip screamed hysterically, pulling out his taser and backing away from the group, which now only had nine people left. "ALL OF YOU, STAY BACK!" Without thinking, he immediately fired green electromagnetic shots in every random direction.

"NO, STOP! DON'T KILL ME, PLEASE!" Jonathan begged, kneeling on the floor and pressing his wrists against his stomach to shield his bangle from the shots.

With an almost animalistic screech, Natasha promptly pounced on the distracted man and pulled a rope against his neck, strangling him. Jonathan's eyes bulged as his choking noises filled the air. He writhed desperately, his fingers scrabbling for purchase as he struggled to pry the rope away. Still pulling the rope with one hand, Natasha reached around and pressed the button on his bangle to see his Forbidden Action.

Philip screamed hysterically and fired rapidly at Natasha, but was promptly tackled to the ground by Michael. "GET OFF OF ME!" he squealed, kicking and squirming to no avail.

Michael, the bigger man, easily held Philip down. "Good thing I saw your Forbidden Action already!" he snarled.

"MICHAEL! MICHAEL, PLEASE- GHH!"

It didn't take much longer before Philip's bangle flashed and that wretched 8-bit jingle rang out.

_"BEING PINNED TO THE GROUND FOR FIVE SECONDS"_

Philip let out a mix between a gag and a pained shriek as the poison raced through his veins. His body went horribly tense and trembled violently before he finally stopped struggling and went limp.

_Take my hand_

_We can build a land from the ground up_ _I don't even mind_ _leaving it behind us_ _Watch and wait and work until it all falls down..._

Michael sat up and let out a sharp peal of harsh, bitter laughter, but it was cut short by Natasha wrapping the rope around his neck and strangling him as well. Michael writhed desperately before thrusting his head backwards, headbutting her right in the face. Natasha cried out in pain and brought her hands to her bleeding, broken nose, letting go of the rope.

Without wasting a moment, Michael whirled around and pinned her down as well. He quickly reached for her button, but she reacted by flipping them both over so that she was on top. She pulled out her hunting knife from her pocket and brought it down towards his shoulder, but Michael blocked the stab by grabbing her arm. For a moment, they glared at each other, all traces of hesitation and sympathy gone. To an outsider, they would have appeared to be mortal enemies rather than fellow members of Hope Organization...

Michael pushed against her and both of them grunted and screamed unintelligibly as they struggled for dominance, turning each other over and over again.

Bodil was whimpering hysterically and had his hands clamped over his ears, his eyes shut tightly. The others on the couch were visibly horrified as they watched the whole thing go down. Bonks was burying her face in Steven's shoulder.

Only Steven's face was blank, but his eyes seemed cold and distant, like he wasn't even present at all.

Seto didn't know how to react. His eyes seemed glued to the giant screen and he couldn't look away from the awful, violent, brutal sight. For some reason, the only thing racing through his mind was something Master Hennessy had once told him...

* * *

_"M-Master?" Seto asked hesitantly. He tensed instinctively as Master Hennessy let go of his scalpel (placing it next to the half-dissected corpse he was examining on the operating table) and turned to face him._

_"...What?"_

_Seto swallowed nervously. He could barely get the words out. "Um... F-Forgive me for asking, but- but why... why do people die? I- I mean- I know there's bleeding out or- or drowning- but- but why does that make people stop living?"_

_Master Hennessy simply stared at him for a long period of time. Seto winced as he braced himself for an indignant slap to the face for wasting his time or a spiteful insult for his apparent stupidity._

_Instead, Master Hennessy kept staring at him with a peculiar expression that Seto couldn't describe._

_It seemed like an eternity before Master Hennessy sighed and picked up the scalpel again, resuming his work in meticulously dissecting the body. "I am surprised that you asked such a relevant question. Perhaps there is still hope for you after all."_

_Seto almost couldn't believe what he had just heard. "R-Really?"_

_Master Hennessy frowned. "Do you know what 'entropy' is?"_

_Seto's eyes lowered dejectedly. "...No..."_

_"Entropy means disorder. Chaos. A collapse in all order as we know it," Master Hennessy said as he continued slicing apart the corpse's flesh. "According to the second law of thermodynamics, all systems lead to entropy. This is why whenever you drop a broken egg, it will only break further or remain the same rather than becoming intact again. An ice cube will melt when it gets too warm. A life that is lived... will eventually end."_

_"But- But if you keep water in a freezer, it'll stay as an ice cube! Why can't people stay alive if they keep drinking healing potions or something?"_

_"The freezer involves evaporation of hot gas. That is entropy at work. People die when their cells stop functioning, a process that is inevitable as of now."_

_Seto stared at the corpse._

_"We cannot stop entropy from occurrin_ _g as a whole. Eventually, the entire universe will run itself out. All order in our world will give way to cruel disorder... There will only be chaos left in the end... Chaos and destruction..."_

* * *

MonoWither was cackling hysterically. "Tristan, I hope you're watching, because this is beeeaaauuutiful! Look at your precious Hope Organization now! Even the most hopeful of people eventually succumb to the most bitter of despair given the right conditions! Teammates clash as opponents, friends clash as foes, lovers clash as rivals..."

 _Take my hand_  
We can build a land from the ground up  
I don't even mind  
leaving it behind us  
Watch and wait and work until it all falls down...

 _"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"_ Krystal shrieked as she brought her knife down right below the bangle on her arm.

"Wh-Why are they doing this?!" Bonks wailed, cringing as Krystal let out an ear-piercing scream of agony that chilled them all to the core. Krystal continued to hack at her arm.

MonoWither sneered. "Why? Well Bonks, for the same reason three of your friends chose to commit murder! Despair and utter hopelessness have consumed them completely! They can't trust anybody either! They're all so very desperate to be the last one standing, friendship and teamwork be damned!"

"JUST DIE ALREADY!" Natasha screamed in an almost feral-like tone, bringing the knife down straight into Michael's eye. Michael let out one of the most agonized screeches that Seto had ever heard in his life (and he had heard plenty). His scream only grew louder and more hysterical when Natasha twisted the knife. It took several long moments before Michael finally went silent and his body went limp.

Natasha laughed breathlessly, a truly crazed look in her eyes as she let go of the knife, leaving it in Michael's bleeding eye-socket. "I- I won- I won- I won-!"

"Uh oh Natasha, forgot the rules? You can only kill someone by using the bangle!" MonoWither reminded. "And you know what happens when you break the rules?"

Natasha's face paled. "N-No-! No wait-! No- NO-!"

The 8-bit tune rang as her bangle lit up.

_"FIGHTING WITH ONLY BARE HANDS"_

Natasha's body fell to the floor unceremoniously next to Michael's.

Seto did a mental count and realized that there were now only four out of the original 16 remaining. The fact that the calm, peaceful song had been and was still playing throughout this whole thing only unnerved him further.

 _Are we prepared?_  
Are we there?  
Do you even care  
Now I am afraid, but it's okay  
The world crumbles around us...

Amidst all the corpses lying about, two people in particular were facing each other and holding hands. Terry and Jenna looked into each other's eyes, tears streaming down their faces as they smiled bitterly.

"Together?" Terry asked, letting go of her with his right hand and pulling out his taser.

Jenna nodded shakily. "Together," she replied, pulling out her taser as well.

They each pressed the arrow-like electrodes against the other's bangle.

"F-F-Five?" Terry mumbled.

"Five," Jenna said as well, nodding again.

"Four," they said in unison.

"Three..."

"Two-"

Terry suddenly shut his eyes and fired the trigger, activating Jenna's bangle.

Jenna choked as she stared at Terry in betrayed disbelief. "T-T-Terry-? You-? Why-?"

Terry sobbed as he backed away. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry, I had to! Forgive me!"

Jenna collapsed to the floor, the look of shock permanently etched on her face.

Terry sunk to his knees and wailed incoherently. "I'M SORRY JENNA! FORGIVE ME! FORGIVE ME!"

Behind him, Salvador staggered over towards the man, raising his bloodstained knife in one hand and his taser in the other. It was over in a matter of seconds.

"Oh god..." Jason whispered in horror.

Jordan sighed and looked away.

Krystal was now lying on the floor, blood streaming from her half-severed arm. She breathed raggedly as her whole body twitched with agony. Finally, she raised her knife one last time, smiled bitterly, before plunging it underneath her ribs into her heart and ending her pain.

Tyler was trembling violently beside Seto. "I- I don't want to watch anymore..." he whispered to no one in particular.

Seto had the strange sensation of being watched and turned to see Annie glaring at him. He gulped and looked back at the screen reluctantly to watch the final two people.

"You can't hide like that!" Salvador screamed as he chased down poor Jasmine, whose clothes and face were smeared with blood. It looked like she had survived this long by playing dead...

_Take my hand,_

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME, PLEASE!" Jasmine pleaded desperately as she staggered away from him as fast as she could. She was limping due to a large cut on her right leg that was bleeding profusely.

"Once you're dead, I'll know that whoever killed Angie earned their punishment!" Salvador yelled as he coldly stepped over Ida's body.

_We can build a land from the ground up,_

"I- I swear- It wasn't me-! I'm not the spy!"

"How can I trust you! HOW CAN I TRUST ANYONE ANYMORE?!"

Depleted of all energy, Jasmine all but collapsed against a door on the wall and pounded against it frantically. "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! SOMEONE?! ANYONE! PLEASE!" she shrieked hysterically. Although there was a barred opening near the top, no one responded.

_I don't even mind,_

Salvador's shadow quickly loomed over the woman's figure as she weakly sank to the floor.

_leaving it behind us,_

"...Please..." she gasped raggedly. "I don't... I don't want to die... Not now... Please... There's still so much I want to do... Not... now..."

_Watch and wait and work until it all falls down._

Salvador raised the taser and fired. Jasmine fell to the ground, tears still staining her face.

Salvador stood there, breathing heavily. "I- I did it- I did it... You bastards..." he hissed, his whole body twitching erratically. "I won..."

Suddenly, he stiffened as he heard a shuffling sound behind him before whirling around and pointing the taser on instinct. Then his eyes widened as a certain person weakly propped herself up with her arms.

"...Angie...?" he whispered in astonishment.

Angelique coughed as she raised her head. She brought a hand up to her neck and pulled out the "poisonous" dart. "Wh... Sal...? What... What happened, I..." Her face blanched as she finally noticed all the bodies strewn around her. "Oh- Oh my god! Sal-?! Sal, what-?!" She looked up and saw him clearly for the first time, realizing that his clothes and face stained with blood.

"...Sal?" she whispered.

Salvador gripped the taser tighter, aiming it at her bangle. "Don't- Don't look at me!" he shrieked. "Don't you dare look at me like that! I only did it because I thought you were dead!"

"Sal, what's going on?! I don't understand- What happened to everyone- Why are you the only one-"

 _"I SAID DON'T LOOK AT ME!"_ Sal howled, firing the taser repeatedly.

The 8-bit jingle played.

Angelique's eyes bulged as she stared at the bangle in bewilderment, Salvador's name barely forming on her lips before she collapsed, dead for real.

Salvador stared at Angelique's body for a few moments before bursting into uncontrollable, hysterical laughter that he couldn't seem to stop. Then he keeled over and vomited all over the floor.

MonoWither stared at the screen, an uncharacteristically cold expression on their faces. "...You... You actually _killed_ her..." MonoWither said quietly. "You saw that the one you loved turned out to be alive the whole time and you just... killed her? That... That's just... How could you do something like that?"

Seto couldn't seem to figure out why MonoWither sounded so disturbed...

MonoWither exhaled sharply. "Well! That wasn't expected at all! But hey, we guess you survived the whole thing! So congratulations!"

Confetti filled the room, settling down on the bloodied corpses like feathers of a bird shot from the sky. The sound of applause filled the air briefly.

Salvador stared into the camera, a totally broken and shattered expression on his face. His eyes were almost soulless.

"Mmm, but you know, there's just one more thing we'd like you to do. It's very simple, trust us! Survive this one last thing and you'll be free to go!"

The door that Jasmine had so desperately tried to enter finally swung open.

Steven abruptly rose to his feet and rushed over to the screen, sinking to his knees when he saw an all-too-familiar zombie shuffle in the room.

Dave looked around in confusion, noticing all the corpses on the floor. Then he looked up and saw Salvador staring at him, still holding the knife and taser in his hands. Dave immediately whirled around and tried to leave, but the door slammed shut in his face, leaving him trapped like a mouse in a room with a cat.

"You know what to do..." MonoWither said, grinning sadistically.

Steven pressed his trembling fingertips against the screen where Dave was, staring at the screen like it contained his final hope in life...

Dave pressed his back against the door and watched in horror as Salvador dropped the taser, raising the knife instead. With a snarl, Salvador lunged at the zombie, who barely managed to dodge to the side. Dave struggled to move as quickly as possible, but his movements were severely limited.

"Run Dave, run! Run as fast as those useless zombie legs can take you! Can't let precious little Steven watch you die, can you?! That'll surely plunge him into the darkest of despair!" MonoWither taunted.

His desperation impeding his already cumbersome movements, Dave clumsily tripped over Don's body and fell to the floor. He managed to turn over on his back and struggle to scramble backwards on all fours before his back hit the wall.

The silence in the room was so heavy, Steven's frantic gasps for breath seemed deafening.

"Got you now..." Salvador rasped, raising the knife and approaching the zombie slowly.

Dave's whole body shook as he shielded his face with his arms, preparing for the end...

Suddenly, the sound of something teleporting inside the room filled the air. Dave peeked warily and Salvador whirled around to see what had just happened.

To everyone's surprise, Bart was standing there, his purple eyes narrowing as he glared at Salvador. Their eyes met for one second...

Bart's fanged jaws unhinged as he let out an unearthly screech, his stance widening as he raised his clawed hands. The purple particles swirled around him as he trembled violently.

Salvador yelled angrily as he blindly rushed at Bart with the knife, but Bart teleported away. The man breathed heavily as he looked around. "COME BACK HERE!" he screamed.

Bart manifested directly behind him, roaring animalistically. Salvador turned around but had no time to react before Bart raked his claws across his abdomen, practically gutting him. Salvador staggered backwards, clutching his belly and screaming in agony. That was when Bart plunged his claws into his throat, severing the spinal cord, and used his other hand to tear Salvador's head straight off his neck.

Crimson blood splattered everywhere, staining Bart and his suit from head to toe, as Salvador's body tumbled to the floor, still twitching for a few moments.

Bart stared at the disembodied head in his hands, but Salvador's face seemed to stare deep into his soul. His eyes widening, Bart dropped the head and stepped away from it, horrified. He glanced at his bloodied hands, realizing what he had just done...

Behind Bart, Dave was still crouched against the wall, shielding himself and trembling in fear.

Bart looked up at the camera for one last moment, his purple pupils dilated in terror, before the screen turned off.

"Aaand there you have it, folks! That's the ending of this special episode!" MonoWither declared proudly.

Although the screen was black, Steven continued to press his fingers against the spot where Bart and Dave had been and stare at it, as though Bart and Dave were somehow trapped inside of the television monitor.

"...Even after all this time... I never thought... you could be this cruel..." Jordan murmured softly. His hands were shaking uncontrollably as he said it.

"Yeah, well you should consider yourselves lucky! You could have very easily been subjected to this kind of lawless killing game!" MonoWither remarked. "Wonder which one among you would survive that, huh?"

"You're a _monster_!" Bonks cried out. "How could you do this to innocent people!"

"Don't act like I'm the only person in this world who's hurt others before! You don't know what kind of hell I've been through!" MonoWither shouted before suddenly composing themselves. "I- I mean- _We_ mean- Don't be ridiculous! Everyone acts like this given the right conditions! Everyone's gonna die anyway!"

"That doesn't mean we have to die horribly!" Tyler yelled.

"Well too bad, you're not in control anymore, we are!"

"Most importantly, are our bangles just like theirs?" Annie demanded.

"Why yes indeed! They've just been activated as we speak! Go ahead, check what you have! We promise that none of them are like Ida's!"

Seto made sure that he was blocking his bangle from view before he pressed the button.

_"EXPLICITLY DENYING BEING ONE OF THE SPIES."_

"Oh- Oh come on-" Jason stammered.

"No no no no!" Bodil shrieked.

"This is ridiculous..." Annie muttered.

Everyone kept staring at their bangles in disbelief.

"And with that, we're finally announcing the fourth motive! You really should have taken our offer of cookies, because guess what? We figured that it wouldn't be fair to use the most prized possession thing as the next motive because geez, who would murder over useless stuff like hair ribbons or glasses? No, one of the most important things any person needs is food! So if you want to eat again and get your beloved possessions back, someone's going to have to die! Not necessarily by the bangles, but we're sure that these handy little devices'll make things a lot more interesting!"

Everyone sat there, paralyzed with shock. Everything was happening way too fast...

MonoWither cackled. "Good luck everyone! And remember, don't perform those Forbidden Actions if you want to live!"


	41. Slap on the Wrist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was actually cut in half because it ended up being way too long. (Part 04 is going to be so long omfg)

****When MonoWither left, Bonks immediately rushed over to Steven, who was still kneeling in front of the television screen with a shell-shocked expression on his face.

"This isn't good..." Jason murmured softly. "We don't have any more food..."

"And we have these deadly bangles now, too..." Annie muttered, glaring at hers reproachfully.

"Th-That means- that means we're all gonna die!!!" Bodil shrieked.

"Bodil!" Jordan said sharply.

Bodil whimpered as he turned his wheelchair to face them, gripping a joystick in front of him with his left arm, which unlike the other wasn't in a cast. "I'm- I'm just saying!"

"We just have to stay calm..." Jordan mumbled. "We shouldn't panic..."

Seto thought wildly back to the last time he had eaten. When... when had that been? He hadn't eaten at all today... And yesterday he hadn't eaten either because of the escape attempt... It was only the day before that when he'd eaten dinner...

So he'd already gone around two days without eating...

Bonks slowly coaxed Steven into standing up. With her arm around his shoulders, they both sat down on the couch once more.

"What do we do now?" Bonks asked in a trembling voice.

Annie was staring into her lap, her green eyes flashing with anger. "Well... I think now's a better time than ever to tell you all about something I discovered..."

"What did you discover?" Tyler asked hopefully.

Annie slowly curled her fingers on her knees into fists. "I... I know who one of the spies is..."

"W-Woah, really?!" Jason asked.

Annie looked up and faced Seto. "Seto, I know you're one of them..."

Seto felt his heart race as everyone stared at him, including Steven. His mouth felt dry.

"He is?!" Bodil exclaimed.

"No no no- Where's your proof!" Tyler snapped. "I won't believe a word unless you have evidence!"

"Unfortunately, all of my evidence is just what I saw... but I know my eyes didn't deceive me..."

"What did you see?" Jordan asked.

Annie paused. "I... I saw Seto blow up the Nether Portal..."

Seto's eyes widened. Out of all the possible reasons he had considered, he had never expected _that_ to be one of them. What in the world was she talking about? The accusation was so bizarre, he didn't know what to say.

For one horrific moment, he thought of Slotty, but he quickly threw that idea out. Not only had Seto not been electrocuted, but even after the two times Slotty had emerged unexpectedly, Seto had distinctly remembered his actions. So what in the world could explain Annie's claim?

"He did _what_?!" Bodil shrieked.

"You mean the one that the Hope Organization people wanted us to escape from?!" Bonks asked.

"What other portal was there?" Annie responded.

"I don't believe you! You're lying!!!" Tyler shouted. "Seto tried rescuing me, but the gas got us both! Why would he go through all the effort to drag me along to the portal if he was only going to blow it up?!"

"I don't know, okay?!" Annie snapped. "I thought the same thing. I saw him trying to pull you towards the portal. But I was almost there when I saw him just reach out his hand and blow it up after you blacked out!"

"Seto? Do you have anything to say?" Jordan asked.

"I- I didn't do that!" Seto exclaimed. "I swear I didn't... I wanted to escape just as much as anybody... A MonoGhast blew it up, not me..."

"See! He says that he didn't do it!" Tyler said victoriously. "Therefore, he's innocent!"

"Th-That's not proof if Seto himself denies it!" Jason stammered.

"But if Annie's the only witness, her testimony is also questionable," Jordan pointed out.

"I know what I saw," she stated with utter conviction.

"Well maybe the gas messed with your vision or something!" Tyler yelled. "Or- Or maybe _you're_ one of the spies!"

"That's not true!" she retorted. "Besides, that's not the only thing Seto has against him! Remember what MonoWither showed us?! Right before the blackout, Seto was walking around for no reason! When I asked him about it back then, he lied and said that he had been in his room the whole time!"

Seto resisted the urge to look away guiltily. Instead, his mind instinctively went numb and his expression turned emotionless.

"Oh yeah, that _is_ suspicious," Jason said hesitantly.

"No- No it's not!" Tyler shouted, giggling nervously. "He was probably just taking a nighttime walk! You know- to clear his mind or something-!"

"Tyler, you're not helping his case by doing that," Bonks admitted.

"Seto, what were you really doing?" Jordan asked, grimacing.

Seto didn't answer. For some reason he couldn't get the idea out of his head that they just wouldn't believe him anyway. Hadn't that been what his past with the Order had been like? Every mistake he made had to have been on purpose. Every failure was because he hadn't been trying hard enough. This wasn't like a trial where he or the others could have clear-cut evidence or proof. Now it was all just a "he said, she said" game...

How would they even believe him for a second if he confessed what he had really been trying to do?

"Since he won't answer why, I'll just give my own suggestion. He was meeting up with the Puppetmaster themselves!" Annie declared.

"You really think so?!" Jason stammered. "I- I mean- That would make sense, but-"

"It was _you_ , wasn't it?" Bodil asked Seto in realization. "I remember when we were looking for Ryan, Husky and I heard someone shout in the men's locker room, but we couldn't open the door to the shower room. _You_ were the one who shouted, right?!"

Seto didn't say a word. Why, why did they have to argue about him like this? He couldn't even deny a thing...

"S-Seto, come on..." Tyler pleaded desperately. "You can prove that they're wrong, right? You wouldn't... lie about something like this..."

Annie snorted. "Oh, he wouldn't lie, huh? He definitely confessed his real secret back then. Obviously it was for some other reason that he tried to kill Bonks."

Bonks cringed and looked away, rubbing her neck instinctively. "He apologized though... and stopped himself..."

"As someone said before, obviously someone who's skilled with magic put us here," Annie murmured darkly. "There's too much evidence!"

"I know Seto has a lot going against him right now, but at the same time, can we trust that what MonoWither said was right?" Jordan asked. "To believe that two of us would actually _work_ _for_ MonoWither..."

Annie's expression wavered. "...In Seto's case... I have a hunch that he must be spying against his will..."

Seto glanced up in surprise.

"I still remember the first time we met and Ashley was kidnapped by that crazy man during Jason's concert. He didn't even know her then, and yet he still risked his life to save her... He saved my life too..." Annie said softly.

She stiffened and her gaze hardened.

"But this is why I can't let this go. Not ever. Ever since we were trapped here, everything I thought I could trust in this world was uprooted. Everything from my closest friends to my future to even my life's purpose... I don't know what to believe in anymore, and it's all because we were put in this fucked-up show for MonoWither's sadistic amusement! That's why I want whoever put us here and did this to us to pay, and I won't restrain myself for one second. If this experience taught me anything, it's that even the people we thought we could trust can have their own ulterior motives..."

She glared at Seto, who felt his stomach twist nauseously.

"So? There's no use trying to deny it. I'm sick of doubting the people around me, I need a clear answer! Just confess already!"

"No!" Bonks cried out suddenly, her voice filled with such panic that it startled everyone.

"Bonks?" Jason asked in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"I- I mean- what if Seto _can't_ confess!" Bonks stammered wildly. "If MonoWither's forcing him to do this, then he might get in huge trouble if he gets found out!"

"What kind of trouble?" Annie asked skeptically. "Maybe if he gave us a hint, I'd let him off. Seto?"

Seto swallowed, his mind going blank. "...I... I can't... I'm sorry... I really wish I could help..."

Annie sighed. "Just as I thought."

"If... If Seto _is_ being manipulated by the Puppetmaster..." Tyler murmured hesitantly, pausing for a bit before continuing. "Maybe if he confesses, the Puppetmaster will hurt him in some way..."

"Well if that was the case, I don't think MonoWither would have brought up the subject of the spies in the first place. It's not like any of us were considering something like that," Jordan pointed out.

"Everything's a game to that sadistic fuck," Jason hissed. "I wouldn't be surprised if MonoWither decided to screw Seto over just for the chance of seeing us argue like this."

"It's exactly something MonoWither would do!" Bodil declared.

Annie looked around. "So I guess the consensus is that Seto's being manipulated to spy for MonoWither, correct?"

Everyone nodded in assent.

Bonks sighed in relief. "I'm glad we can finally put this issue aside-"

_"Stop right there!"_

Bodil shrieked and shielded his face as MonoWither appeared. Steven, who hadn't spoken a word this whole time, lifted his deadened gaze ever-so-slightly to look at the hovering machine.

"Room service at your ready!" MonoWither declared proudly.

"We're not even _in_ a hotel room, assholes!" Jason snapped.

"What do you want?" Jordan asked in resignation.

"Well, we couldn't help but eavesdrop a little, and we just had to correct something! So you think the two spies are being manipulated by yours truly? Being cruelly forced to betray their friends?" MonoWither asked.

"I almost forgot there were two spies..." Tyler said quietly.

"How else would you even get two of us to work for you?" Bonks asked.

"This just won't do! No no no, we must correct this misconception and declare that the two spies, who are two participants among you right now, are spying _out of their own free will!_ "

Seto felt like his head was starting to spin uncontrollably like a compass needle near a magnet. This couldn't be happening...

"What- What the fuck?!" Jason cried out in bewilderment.

"That's right! We didn't force the spies to do anything! No, they're being all deceptive and sneaky just because they want to! They gladly took it upon themselves to be spies! We aren't 'forcing' them to spy at all!" MonoWither declared, cackling victoriously. "Chew on that despairing fact!"

"You're lying!" Tyler shouted angrily. "I don't believe you for one second!"

"Well that's your choice! Ignorance is bliss, after all! Why, are you afraid of the thought that your precious Seto's actually helping us because he wants to? We mean, you also trusted Sky, and he went off and murdered an innocent girl!"

The horrified look on Tyler's face and the flinch that shook his body reminded Seto of someone who had been abruptly stabbed in the gut.

"This is all wrong, no!" Bonks wailed, shaking her head.

"Oh oh oh, hold on, here's more fun info! _The spies both know your Forbidden Actions_ _!_ So you'd better watch out!" MonoWither giggled hysterically. "Oh, this is gonna be good!"

Bodil gripped the joystick as he frantically backed away from the group. "I can't trust anybody anymore!!!"

Annie gritted her teeth. "This- This is-!" She flew to her feet and whirled around to face the couch, jabbing her finger at Seto. "You! I can't believe you'd actually do this to us!!!"

Jordan gulped. "Annie, calm down and think about this for a sec-"

Annie's face was boiling red with rage as she continued to scream at Seto. "Why?! Why the hell would you work with them willingly?! WHY?!"

"Seto isn't the spy!!!" Tyler yelled. "He can't be! Seto would never hurt anyone willingly, he's always tried to help us!!!"

Annie shook her head. "There's too much evidence! Even if I was somehow mistaken about him destroying the portal, there's a reason why he's been the top suspect for awhile! Plus, I'm willing to bet that Seto's the one who put all these magical spells around to keep us from breaking out!!! MonoWither's been calling Seto the 'protagonist' this whole time, too!!!"

"Shut up!!!" Tyler screamed. "You're lying, you're just jumping to conclusions!!!"

"And _you're_ just letting your stupid loyalty get in the way of the truth again!!!" Annie turned back to face Seto. "Well?! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"I- I wouldn't ever hurt you guys! I swear I'm not the-!" Seto bit his lip, remembering his Forbidden Action just in time. He had been so close to slipping up, just one more word and he would have died... Perhaps it would be safer to just remain silent, no matter how much he wanted to tell them he would never hurt them willingly...

"Can't even deny being the spy, huh? I can't believe I ever trusted you!!!" Annie shrieked. "I can't believe this whole time you pretended you were our friend just so you could help this sick fuck! All these deaths that have happened so far, they're all _your fault!!!_ "

Her words stung like vicious wasps. Seto flinched as he bowed his head and brought his makeshift cloak closer to him, tears welling up in his eyes as he drew deeper into the blanket.

"Annie, stop, this isn't helping," Jordan cut in.

"He doesn't even have the decency to confess!" Annie snapped. "After all he's done-"

"There's no reason to make him to confess if you already know!" Bonks declared.

"I just want some honesty for once!!!"

"Seto _isn't_ a spy!!!" Tyler cried out. "I'm telling you, he's being framed somehow, he would never hurt us!!! He took care of me when I was drunk, you know! And he defended me from MonoWither's words! Bodil, didn't he help you too?!"

Bodil gulped. "He... He did make the pain go away... and I'm thankful, but..." He looked away guiltily and rolled the chair backwards a few more inches. "...The- The Puppetmaster healed me too..." he mumbled, his face burning with shame at turning Seto's benevolence into another piece of evidence against him.

Tyler glared at all of them. "Well- Well I can't believe you'd all turn against Seto for no good reason! You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

" _I_ should be ashamed of myself?!" Annie thundered in disbelief. "Oh, so the spies should just go scot-free, is that it?!"

"Accusing Seto isn't the right answer!!!" Tyler retorted.

"Well who do _you_ think are the spies, huh?!" Annie snapped.

"I don't know, but Seto's definitely not one of them!!!"

Jason tried to step between them. "Tyler, I don't want to believe it myself, but you can't deny that there's a lot of evidence-"

"You're all lying!!!" Tyler shrieked. "How dare you lie and accuse Seto, he's innocent!!!"

"The only liar here is you, you're lying to yourself!!!" Annie shouted.

"Everyone stop!!!" Jordan shouted. "This argument is getting us nowhere! Don't you realize that this is exactly how those Hope Organization members got themselves killed?!"

Everyone went silent, horror filling the room.

"This is MonoWither's trap. They _want_ us to argue like this and distrust each other so that a murder will happen! And if you were smart, you'd stop this pointless argument right now and agree to disagree! We're never going to decide if Seto's the spy or not with the evidence we have now."

Seto stared down at his lap, feeling everyone's eyes burning through him. His tear-filled eyes burned as well...

"So- So what should we do now?" Bonks whispered.

"We should be working together," Jordan said. "If we lose all faith in ourselves, how are we going to survive?"

"We don't have any more food though!" Bodil exclaimed.

Seto cringed at the reminder, struggling not to think about how he was already hungry...

"Then we look around and see what we can do in this new place," Jordan replied. "Does everyone agree?"

Steven nodded silently.

"You're... right, I guess," Annie conceded. "But we can't let Seto out of our sight. He's too suspicious right now."

"I think that's fair," Jason remarked.

"Seto? What do you have to say? You've been relatively quiet about all this," Jordan said.

Seto swallowed down the lump in his throat. "...Do whatever makes you satisfied..." he whispered hoarsely.

"Then it's decided. Seto can't go anywhere without someone watching him," Jordan said. "Should we start investigating this place?"

"That's the best thing we can do right now," Bonks admitted.

"Y-Yeah!" Bodil said, already moving away on the wheelchair. "Let's split up, I'll go left-"

"Our number's already so small," Tyler interrupted. "Maybe we should just go as a group, I don't think it would be safe for us to split up, you know?"

"That's not a bad idea," Jason murmured.

"O-Oh, okay..." Bodil muttered.

The ones sitting on the couch stood up. Seto actually felt a rush of dizziness and fatigue and had to steady himself for a moment. This wasn't good...

"Where should we go first?" Tyler asked.

"Maybe we should start with the bedroom hallway and make our way through the building from there," Jordan suggested.

"Good idea! Let's go!" Bodil shouted.

There was an awkward silence as nobody moved. It then became clear that they were all waiting for someone to take the lead, a position normally taken by Seto...

Annie stepped forward. "Come on, let's get moving."

The group left the hotel lobby and went back to the bedroom hallway. But then...

"D-Don't worry Jason, I can move the wheelchair myself!" Bodil stammered nervously, pushing the joystick forward.

Jason followed closely behind him, reaching for the handlebars. "Bodil, what's gotten into you? You're supposed to be resting your body, it'll be easier for you if I help you-"

"Not necessary! I'm- I'm already feeling so much stronger! You can go in front of me!"

"But-"

"My- um- my arms are cramped because I haven't been using them enough! So- So this is fine!"

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Your arms are cramped because you haven't been using them enough."

Bodil gulped and grinned sheepishly. "Yeah?"

"I don't know, you were perfectly fine letting me push you this morning-"

"What's the matter?" Bonks asked.

"Yeah, both of you are falling behind..." Tyler muttered.

"Tell Jason to leave me alone!" Bodil shrieked hysterically.

Jason's eyes widened and he stepped away. "W-Woah Bodil, okay then..." he said finally before walking quickly over to the group, Bodil trailing slowly behind.

Seto looked down the hallway, observing it more closely this time. The doors on both sides of the corridor each had a nameplate and a peephole. There were a few paintings of MonoWither that hung on the walls.

Most importantly, there was also an elevator at the very end of the hallway with a black-and-white door.

"Is there a second floor?" Annie questioned aloud. "I mean, why else would there be an elevator..."

No one wanted to get close to the elevator, it brought back too many fresh memories. Finally, Seto mustered up the courage to walk over to the elevator. He reached for the button, ready to press it, when all of a sudden-

_"STOP RIGHT THERE!!!"_

Seto flinched and took a step back as MonoWither moved in front of him, blocking the way.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" MonoWither demanded.

"We were just taking a look around," Annie replied for him, glaring at them.

"Well unfortunately, this elevator is only meant for those worthy enough to enter the VIP Floor!"

"VIP Floor?" Bonks echoed in confusion.

"Yes, you know, VIP! A Very Inexplicable Place for Very Inexplicable People! Although VIPVIP Floor doesn't have the same ring to it..."

"So we're not allowed in there, is what you're saying?" Tyler asked.

"No no no, the lack of food's already getting to your hearing! We said that _anyone who's worthy enough_ can enter the VIP Floor! That is, anyone who's brave enough to risk their lives can reap the benefits of what we have to offer here! What benefits? Why, that's a surprise!"

"Unless I get a clear answer on what kind of benefits exactly, I'm not risking my life," Jordan muttered. Everyone else murmured in assent.

"Aw, so none of you are worthy, huh? Well then, don't complain about the missed privileges with your regular service!"

"Will there be food up there?" Seto asked.

"Hmm, should we answer that question? Okay, all we're gonna say is that you'll find a way to help you get food! But is it worth the _deadly_ risk?"

"Deadly?! I'm definitely not going in there, then!!!" Bodil stammered.

"Well that's your choice! Don't come complaining to the front desk!"

"Oh we won't," Annie murmured before turning around. "Come on, there's nothing more to see here."

As the group turned around, Bodil scrambled to maneuver the wheelchair and sped off.

"Bodil, what's gotten into you?!" Jason called out in disbelief.

"Haha! Y-You know, just wanted to get going!" Bodil veered back into the lobby and faced them, grinning shakily.

"So, did you find anything interesting in the lobby or something? Because there isn't even a front door to this 'resort'," Jordan pointed out.

"N-No, um, I'm just waiting for you guys!" Bodil stammered. "You know, you guys will be faster, so I should go in the back..."

"With that wheelchair of yours, you should be pretty fast..." Bonks said skeptically.

"No! No I'm not- EEK!!!" Bodil shrieked in terror as Jason, who had gone behind him without him noticing, started pushing the wheelchair back towards the group.

"Quit being so anxious and relax, geez..." Jason muttered as he moved them both to the back of the group.

Bodil looked extremely tense, trembling on the seat as he whimpered and drew into himself.

"I wonder why he's acting so weird," Tyler whispered to Seto. "I mean I know he's a ball of nerves 90% of the time but this is just extreme."

Seto looked down at the bangle on his wrist. Perhaps...

The next stop was the breakfast room, which was right next to the front desk.

"Ah! Breakfast!" Tyler cried out. "Please tell me MonoWither left something! I'm starving!!!" Before anyone could stop him, he rushed past everyone and shoved open the door.

Jordan sighed. "Tyler, nothing's going to be there-"

"Oh my god! We've been blessed!!!"

"Wh-What? What are you talking about?!" Bonks exclaimed.

They all rushed in the room. Seto couldn't believe his eyes. Sitting on the counters along the walls were all sorts of delicious-looking pastries, a refrigerator filled with yogurt and fruit, and pans with scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage.

It seemed too good to be true...

"Wait, this isn't right," Annie said, frowning. "Something smells off."

Tyler reached over excitedly and reached out to grab a slice of bread, but that was when his whole expression changed. "...N-No..." he whispered, as he stared at what was in front of him.

"Tyler? What's wrong?" Bodil asked.

Tyler turned around, gazing at them with a grimace, before tapping against an invisible barrier.

"Oh come on, can't we break it down or something?" Bodil asked.

Tyler shook his head. "This isn't a glass barrier, this is an actual image on a digital screen. See, if I hit it hard enough..." Tyler slammed the side of his fist against the wall and the image distorted briefly.

Annie's eyes widened and she looked at Seto, both recalling the same incident with the stairs leading up to the fourth floor.

"I should have realized this was a digital screen sooner, they use this shit in filming all the time. I just... got my hopes up..." Tyler muttered quietly.

"It all looks so realistic... The perspective angle changes whenever I look at the images differently..." Bonks whispered, looking around in bewilderment.

"This is just cruel for MonoWither to set up!" Jason declared angrily.

Steven bit his lip, his usually-blank eyes hardened with fury as he nodded in agreement.

"Should we have expected anything less?" Annie asked, sighing. "They literally said that the motive involved taking our food away. Obviously, they wouldn't have missed the breakfast room, which didn't have all this 'food' when I was here this morning..."

Seto couldn't stand the sight of all those images, his stomach seemed to growl louder the more he thought about it. No, this wasn't good at all... Without saying a word, he quickly slipped out of the room and took a few deep breaths. He had to stop thinking about food, but the more he tried not to think about it, the more the thought plagued his mind, and the hungrier he felt...

How much longer could he last like this?

The others filed out of the breakfast room, dejected at the painful reminder. Tyler gave Seto a concerned look, forcing him to swallow down his nausea and stand up straighter.

"Oh look, there's a door over there!" Bonks said, pointing at the end of the hallway.

"There is?" Tyler asked, looking away from Seto as he squinted. "Oh, I thought that was just a decoration or something."

They walked towards the door and Annie, still leading the group, reached for the doorknob.

"What's it gonna be this time," Jason grumbled as Annie tentatively opened the door, "a fake buffet? A fake dinner table? A f- What the-?!"

"Woah..." Jordan said in disbelief.

Stuck behind them, Bodil gripped the armrests of his wheelchair as he craned his neck upward, trying to get a better look. "Hey, what's going on? What's in that room?"

The group wordlessly stepped forward, staying on a fence-blocked ledge that was overlooking the shocking sight.

 _"Come on guys, move faster!"_ MonoWither exclaimed from behind Jason, making Jason flinch and Bodil squeak. "Don't you realize that this is something Bodil definitely wants to see?!"

"Wh-What do you mean by that?!" Bodil stammered as Jason pushed him forward. Bodil cringed as they passed through the crowd, as though he was bracing himself for something, before he took one look and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Tah dah! An extraordinary, extravagant, _enormous_  parkour course!!!" MonoWither spun around in excited circles. "Well? What do you think? Do you like it?! It's so glorious, we couldn't even think of a proper name that fit it!"

Seto wasn't afraid of heights himself, and he enjoyed parkour himself, but even he felt weak to his knees and nauseous all over just looking at this... this arena of _certain death_. Every type of parkour imaginable, from fence parkour to ladder parkour to ice parkour, was in here. It might have actually seemed like quite a lot of fun to attempt, except...

Bodil looked ready to pass out. "Wh-Where are the checkpoints? Where are the safety nets?!"

"Gah, who needs those?!" MonoWither scoffed. "Where's the fun if there's no risk involved?! We had to take those out, the creator of this didn't know how to make things exciting for the audience!"

"What's the point of this?" Jordan asked. "There's no way anyone could survive this or make it to the end." Said end was about two football fields away, encompassing a ledge against the opposite wall with a button on it.

"Well, there's a giant pool of water at the bottom," MonoWither said. "Just land in the water and swim to the sandy shore!"

"Who could survive a fall from this high up?!" Bonks asked incredulously. 

Annie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, doesn't matter if there's water, falling into that would break every bone in your body!"

"Hey hey, don't trigger Bodil!" MonoWither scolded. "He's a sensitive cinnamon roll!"

Bodil gulped as he stared down at the pool, which was definitely a _lot_ farther down than three stories.

"You still didn't answer my question," Jordan said in exasperation. "Why is this here? I can't think of any reason why you'd have this parkour course here, no one in their right mind would ever try to cross this."

"Hmm, well, we were thinking of having a challenge of some sorts... You guys really don't like your 'no food' motive, huh?"

Jason snorted. "No kidding!"

"Well today's your lucky day! Anyone who manages to survive this parkour course, reach the other side, and press the button will revoke the food motive for everybody!"

"What?!" Tyler exclaimed, his eyes bulging.

"Oh, and you'll get all your stuff back too! The bangles will have to stay, however, but we guess you could call this the pacifist route?"

"This is just ridiculous," Seto muttered. "You know no one's going to succeed, that's why you're so confident about this challenge. You want someone to get so desperate that they'll die trying."

"How can you be this _evil_?!" Annie demanded.

MonoWither chortled. "Well, if you don't like that, the alternative involving the murders of your friends is always available! Pacifist or genocide? Actually no, let's not invite any more references to THAT game..."

"Neither option is good and you know it!" Jason shouted.

"Yeah, yeah we totally do, and we're excited to see what you'll try! Also, Bonks, you can't just fly your way across the course, that would be cheating! Same thing for you, Seto! No flying or using magic for you!"

"I can't fly," Seto murmured spitefully. No, only _he_ had been able to fly... Those scientists and his uncle had tried every possible way to get him to transform into a dragon state, placed him in every near-death situation possible, yet he had never been able to turn like _he_ could...

"Anyway, you have one more room after this one! We think you'll like this one quite a bit!" MonoWither giggled before disappearing. "Toodles!"

Bodil stared down at his wheelchair, glaring in frustration. "If I wasn't this weak, maybe I-"

"Don't you even dare finish that sentence!" Annie snapped.

Jordan shook his head. "This isn't worth it, it's far too risky."

"Then how are we supposed to survive?!" Jason asked.

There was a deadly silence.

"We just keep hoping," Jordan said, his voice trembling slightly.

"Hoping for what?" Jason asked, laughing bitterly. "Rescue? You know how that turned out last time..."

"Well what other choice do we have?!" Jordan snapped.

More silence.

Bonks swallowed. "Maybe this isn't so bad..."

"How is starving to death 'not that bad'?" Tyler asked in disbelief.

"At least... At least we can die together without killing each other, right?" Bonks asked softly.

Steven's eyes widened as he stared at her, absolutely horrified.

"B-Bonks, what the hell are you saying?" Annie demanded. "You want to just give up and die?!"

"I'm not giving up, I just don't want any more trials!" Bonks shouted. "I don't want any more murders, any more suicides, nothing more!" She teared up. "I- I just- I just don't think it would be so bad if we just... just didn't give MonoWither any more reason to be satisfied..."

"I agree," Seto murmured quietly. "I'd rather die peacefully, knowing none of my friends here killed each other..."

"Seto!" Tyler shrieked. "D-Don't- Don't say stuff like that! You can't lose hope!"

"This _is_ my hope," Seto corrected. "This is far better than the despair we've felt after having to mourn our friends, those who were killed and those who murdered them."

"I'm glad someone agrees," Bonks said, slightly relieved.

"Heh," Jason said bitterly. "If I die, I'll get to see Husky again, right?"

Bodil stared down at his lap. "I- I'm scared..." he whispered.

"Nevertheless, I don't think you'll die here," Seto said. "No, I'm certain you'll make it past this without any murders... Don't worry about this..."

Annie gave Seto a strange, bewildered look.

"Seto, what do you mean by that?" Jordan asked for everyone.

Seto pursed his lips. Should he tell them about _it_? The thing he knew was going to happen? No, keeping silent would be the best option. He could only imagine their reactions. He cringed inwardly when he pictured Tyler's inevitable horror if he confessed what he knew...

_"...I just have a feeling, that's all. Just trust me..."_

* * *

**MONOWITHER THEATER**

**Sorcerers have always been a special type altogether. How in the world did they ever acquire magical powers? It all has to do with the soul. Sorcerers have human souls, no doubt, but they also have a certain component that allows them to use magic. For this reason, magic is quite an exhausting task if you use too much of it without letting yourself rest!**

**Food is also very important, for a sorcerer has a higher metabolism and requires twice as much energy as that of a regular human being. Magic needs energy to run, obviously! But if a sorcerer were to starve, well... it would be quite a _painful_ process. With no outside energy to fuel the magical component, that part would use up all the nutrient reserves in the body before turning to the _soul_ _itself_  for sustenance. **

**Essentially, a starving sorcerer would be _devoured_ from the inside out by their own magic until they had no soul left, killing them quickly and brutally. While a normal human can last about 3 weeks with little to no food, a sorcerer can only last about one week, perhaps even less if the sorcerer possesses a stronger magical component...**


	42. Delicate Flowers

They next walked past the parkour course along the starting platform towards the door which, according to MonoWither, should lead to the last room in the resort. However, this time the door was transparent and they could see inside.

Seto stared through the glass door, bewildered by how many vibrant colors he saw. The door appeared to lead to a giant greenhouse that was filled with rows upon rows of all sorts of beautiful, lavish flowers (above them hung rows of flower pots from the ceiling). Outside, there was a bright blue sky, and sunshine poured in through the glass ceiling.

"I bet it's another one of those digital screens," Jason grumbled. "A digital screen with a door handle on it for shits and giggles."

"Well, let's see about that..." Annie muttered as she pushed down the doorknob. To everyone's surprise, it actually swung open to reveal that what they had seen was actually real and not just a digital image.

Annie frowned and turned to look at Seto. "Seto, you go in."

Seto blinked in confusion, startled. "Wh-What?"

"Something doesn't feel right about this room, so I want you to go in first."

Tyler glared at her. "Hey! What if he gets hurt?"

Annie shrugged. "He's a sorcerer, isn't he?"

Seto sighed before making his way in front of her. She wasn't wrong-despite how beautiful everything looked, something did feel very off about this place, and since he had the best way of protecting himself, he was the best choice. He braced himself before cautiously stepping inside, looking around for any traps. He scanned the flowers, checking for anything suspicious, when he noticed one strange object buried halfway in the dirt among a row of poppies.

Seto glared at MonoWither, whose bottom half was planted in the ground. "Ooh! Pick us, pick us!" MonoWither cried out. "Have you seen anything more beautiful than us?"

Seto pointedly ignored them and walked past. He noticed that he could see a grassy field, trees, and the sky through the glass, but he had a feeling it was fake. The rest of the group followed him from behind.

"Gah! Cold-hearted rejection! Woe is us!" MonoWither pried themselves from the ground before spinning around rapidly, sending specks of dirt flying everywhere. Everyone in the group shielded themselves with their arms. "There, much better!"

Seto knelt down next to a patch of dandelions, reaching to touch them. With all these flowers, maybe they could finally eat _something_!

But of course, when his fingers touched one of the flowers, he realized it was too good to be true.

"Hah! Think we don't know that some flowers are edible? We're not stupid at all! Naturally, we replaced all these flowers with fake ones! Pretty ingenious, isn't it? Now they'll never rot and die, and this greenhouse will stay beautiful forever!"

"You've really thought of everything!" Bodil lamented.

"What's the point of a greenhouse if you're not even going to have real plants?" Jordan asked, looking around.

"Well they look realistic enough! Besides, we thought it would be a nice compromise! You guys obviously like the outside world, so we took it and made it better!"

"N-No, you really didn't..." Jason muttered. "I bet that's not even real glass and that outside view's all fake."

"Well you're right, they're all digital screens, but unfortunately if something hits them with enough force they'll shatter like any piece of technology... What would you find behind these screens? Who knows? Anyway, it's brilliant, huh? Now you get all the benefits of stepping outside without ever having to leave the resort! No more reason to try to escape!"

"Whatever," Annie said, huffing and rolling her eyes. "Do you guys think this place is worth exploring?"

"Even though they're fake, um... I think the flowers are pretty..." Bonks admitted. "And there's so many types! I wish I had my sketchbook..."

"Yeah, it's been so long since I've seen anything resembling the outside world; not including when I was running for my life, of course," Tyler said.

"The air feels so fresh!" Bodil exclaimed. "I could sit in here all day!"

MonoWither beamed. "Why yes, that's the work of our special air purifiers-"

"We weren't talking to you," Jordan said, walking past.

MonoWither shrieked indignantly, wailing something about how ungrateful they all were, before disappearing.

Seto stumbled his way towards a nearby stone bench along the wall and sank down on it, sighing in relief. He was already exhausted; he felt like he had just walked 100 miles straight with no rest. He took several deep breaths and willed his legs to stop trembling. In the distance, Seto saw Annie observing him from the corner of his eye, but she didn't say or do anything. He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, staring forward blankly. He wished this greenhouse had real flowers-the dirt had been recently placed, suggesting that this had been the case not that long ago-but the place was still very beautiful. It was like some oasis in the middle of a hellish desert, and he felt a strange sort of peace and bliss...

He wasn't exactly sure when he had zoned out and for how long, but the next thing he knew, he heard Tyler calling his name. Suddenly realizing that Tyler was standing right in front of him, Seto jolted to his senses and blinked up at him in surprise. "T-Tyler?"

"Oh good, you didn't fall asleep. I was afraid you were one of those people who sleep with their eyes open."

"Sorry, I kind of zoned out there for a second," Seto mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Anyway, what were you calling my name for?"

Tyler smiled, holding something behind his back. "Well, I have a surprise for you..."

Seto stared at him suspiciously. "What is it?"

"Guess."

"Pretty sure I'm going to need some kind of clue."

"It's... um... round."

"...Uh... Okay..."

"And... it's green! Kind of..."

"...A slime ball? Or an Ender Pearl... Wait no, an Eye of Ender?"

"No! Not that kind of round! A circular kind of round!"

"Uh... A circular kind of round...? Not sure what that means, but..." Seto thought for a couple more moments. "I have no idea..."

Tyler grinned nervously. "Okay, um, close your eyes then."

Seto scooted a few inches away. "You're not talking about a blindfold, are you?!"

The man's eyes widened. "No! What- No! Of course not! Just- um- I promise you'll like the surprise!"

Seto took a deep breath. "Okay then..." he muttered, closing his eyes.

He heard Tyler take a few steps forward before something light was placed on his head.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now!"

Seto opened his eyes and reached for the object on his head. To his surprise, he felt soft flowers on his fingertips. "What the..." he muttered as he removed the object, holding it in front of him.

"Ta-da! A flower crown!" Tyler said excitedly.

Seto stared at the crown, which was embellished with a wide, colorful assortment of yellow dandelions, red poppies and tulips, and purple lilacs. "...Did you make this... for me?"

"Um- well- yeah, but to be honest I kind of just tossed in random flowers... Bonks and Steven are making way better ones..."

Seto glanced behind Tyler and saw Bonks and Steven kneeling on the floor, weaving intricate flower crowns. Bonks was happily chatting with Steven, trying her best to cheer him up and distract him.

For once, Steven was smiling, albeit slightly, as he listened to her while focusing on the crown in his hands. When she wasn't looking, he quickly put the crown on her head.

Bonks gasped in surprise before grinning and placing hers on top of Steven's head, laughing.

Tyler cautiously sat down next to Seto, twiddling his thumbs. "Your magic kind of reminds me of the purple ones, did you know that? So- um- yeah..."

Seto felt his cheeks heat up and he held the flower crown to his face as though he were smelling the flowers to hide his reddening face. "...Um... Thank you...?"

_There's no way he could have possibly known... Could he?_

"How curious, Tyler... Are you aware of sorcerer culture?" MonoWither asked interestedly, hovering over to them.

_SHIT!_

Tyler averted his gaze, embarrassed. "Um, not really... Why?"

"Well, flowers are very important to sorcerers. Each flower holds great symbolism to them."

Tyler's eyes widened. "Oh- Oh no- Did I offend him?!"

MonoWither cackled. "On the contrary! You see, because flowers are so important, they are often used for certain rituals. Flower crowns, like the one you made for Seto, have a certain meaning..."

"What- What kind of meaning?" Tyler asked, terrified.

"Let's see, according to the Minepedia... Flower crowns are often presented between romantic couples as a wedding proposal!"

Tyler's face turned as red as the roses in a bush behind him. "WH-WHAT?!" He whirled to face Seto. "I'M SO SORRY!"

"It's fine..." Seto mumbled, still burying his face in the flower crown because he was too flustered. "You didn't know..."

"Agh! I'll- I'll destroy it right now!"

Tyler reached for the flower crown, but Seto turned away, clutching it tightly to his chest. "No! Don't!" Seto cried out without thinking.

"Why not?!"

"B-B-Because!" Seto stammered out, his face so hot he wondered if it would burst into flames. "Because- Because you- Because you put so much effort into it!"

"It looks like shit anyway, here, I'll get rid of it for you!"

Tyler lunged for the crown again and Seto actually pushed him away, shutting his eyes tightly as he turned his back to him and hunched over, still holding the garland protectively. _"NO!"_

Undeterred, Tyler resorted to wrapping his arms around Seto's waist in an attempt to snatch the crown from his hands. "Just hand it over!"

Seto bent over even more and tried to wrestle his way out of Tyler's grasp. "Stop it! No!"

MonoWither cackled. "Would you guys just kiss already?! You're practically cuddling at this point!"

"What's going on?! I hear yelling!" Jordan called out before emerging from behind a nearby row of hanging flower pots. His eyes widened as he stared at them, trying to take in exactly what he was witnessing. "Um..."

Tyler let out a horrified shriek and let go of Seto, who immediately leapt off the seat and bolted away. Seto heard Tyler squeal, "We weren't doing anything!"

Jordan raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Oh yeah? Then why were you holding him like that-"

"I- I can explain, I swear-!" Tyler shrieked.

"Sure, sure!" MonoWither giggled.

"Shut up!"

"All right, I'm listening," Jordan replied, amused.

"He- He was- um- choking on something- and- and I had to do a Heimlich Maneuver- and-!"

Jason poked his head from behind the pots, smirking. "Interesting Heimlich Maneuver technique, if I do say so myself... That's a strange way to do it..."

"Brilliant excuse!" MonoWither exclaimed.

Tyler looked ready to pass out. "G-Go away! All of you! Mind your own business!"

"No, no, go on! Tell us more!" Jason teased.

While the four of them were distracted, Seto kept running away from the scene, wanting a safe place to stash the crown where Tyler wouldn't find it. As he made his way through the "plants" of the greenhouse, he tried to get his heart rate and breathing back to normal. Geez, was he some rabbit or something? This was nothing to get so worked up over, it was just... a flower crown... made by Tyler... and given to him... as a present... because Tyler had been thinking about him-

Abruptly, he bumped into a hard wall. "Ow!" he exclaimed, bringing a hand to his face. What was wrong with him? Now he couldn't even notice the most obvious obstacles in his path! Seto scowled as he backed up a little and noticed that the "glass" of the greenhouse was yet another digital screen, as MonoWither had said. However, when he had bumped into it, he swore he had seen something else...

He hit the screen with his hand and the image flickered to reveal that there was actually a door right in front of him disguised by the digital screen. Suspicious, he felt the place where he had seen the doorjamb and felt a slight gap there, confirming what he had seen...

For a moment, he wondered if he should get back to the others (he could only imagine what Annie would say if she caught him out here by himself), but he wasn't feeling up to walking all the way back. Besides, this must have been something hidden by MonoWither and not meant to be discovered. Going alone seemed to be the best option, so he took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

Inside was a dim room lit only by a lonesome torch on the wall. Seto quickly shut the door behind him. He wasn't sure how quickly MonoWither would notice where he was, if he could at all. Seto looked around, bewildered by what he saw before him.

Dozens upon dozens of books were stacked along the walls, dust lingering on the covers. Mold had actually started eating away at the ones at the bottom on the dirt floor. In a corner, there were two decaying flower crowns hanging from nails on the wall.

Seto first went to the crowns, curious. The flowers were clearly not fake, given that they had wilted, shriveled, and decayed from old age. One flower crown had what appeared to be yellow dandelions, red poppies, and a large oxeye daisy all woven neatly together. The other one looked far more sloppily put together and just had red, white, and orange tulips messily arranged.

 _Strange... I wonder who made these...?_ _And why...?_

Seto turned to the countless piles of books, wrinkling his nose with disgust at how poorly they had been preserved. It seemed like whoever had put them here had just wanted to get rid of them.

His curiosity piqued, Seto grabbed a book on top of a pile (while putting his flower crown on top of his head) and opened to a random page.

He almost dropped the book out of shock. He recognized this handwriting...

_Entry #1467_

_I do not understand why Seto has continuously failed to transform. Slotty has shown great improvement; he has been able to maintain his dragon form for longer periods of time. However, Seto cannot, no matter what we tried. We dropped him from high platforms, hoping that he would activate his wings to fly, but he did not; we had to stop him ourselves from hitting the ground, which would have meant certain death_ _. We locked him in a room with monsters, but he never transformed; had he done so, he could have safely flown upward to a higher platform._

_Perhaps I should start anew with another subject. Although we have made much progress these four years, our success would grow exponentially if we had a subject with a fully-converted soul rather than a half-converted one._

_Yet... Despite Henry's betrayal to the Order, I cannot help but feel obligated to continue trying. I must save his son... I must make him worthy of being one of us..._

Seto shut the book, dropped it, and snatched another one, practically tearing it open to reveal more of the same handwriting. He quickly fanned through it before tossing it and doing the same with another book, repeating the process until he had gone through one whole stack among the dozens.

Seto shakily ran a hand through his hair, his blanket slipping from his shoulders in his shock as he took a few steps back. These... These were all Master Hennessy's notes... Notes about the Slotty Project... and there was most likely other information such as Mitch and Ashley's deals with the Order, since MonoWither had known their secrets.

_And if these are here, that means that what Tristan said about the_ _Puppetmaster_ _is true. They really were involved with the Order, and then they turned on it..._

Seto gulped as he scanned the remaining books. It would take forever for him to read all of them, but he could tell from the plain binding and old, worn-down pages that these were all related to the Order. However, one book in particular sitting on top of a stack caught his eye. It looked newer and _familiar_...

Seto grabbed _Edgar_ _Allan_ _Poe_ _:_ _A_ _Collection_ _of_ _Stories_ and opened the cover, only for two pieces of paper to fall out. Seto picked them up, noticing how one sheet had been torn out of a notebook MonoWither had provided. Something was scrawled on it in pen, the handwriting frantic and messy.

_I'm so scared, I need to write down my thoughts. What the hell is going on? Is this some kind of messed-up dream I'm stuck in? First I wake up in this strange place, then I find out that I was apparently selected to be part of a show with my favorite celebrities. I don't understand, I don't remember this "lottery" that the letter in my pocket mentioned at all, but when the others asked me about it, I played along and pretended like I did remember because I didn't want to make them even more nervous. I just can't help but wonder: would my parents even let me skip school for something like this?_

_Speaking of school, I can't stop thinking about my classmates, Rory especially. For some reason, I can't help but feel like there's something about them that I've forgotten, like there's a huge gap in my memory... Are they okay? They should be, they didn't sign up for this show. But still, I have a bad feeling-_

The last "g" had a long diagonal line at the end of the tail, as though the writer had been startled. Then...

_MonoWither came in just now and started making fun of me for some reason. They said that I'd definitely be the first murder victim because I was the weakest target! I tried telling them that none of the others would ever kill someone, but MonoWither didn't listen. Then they gave me a photograph, but it wasn't just any photo, it was the class photo we took at school a few weeks ago and everyone's eyes were crossed out, including mine!_

_How fucked up is that? Whoever's controlling MonoWither is just messed up. But I can't let them win! No, I have to keep believing in the ones I admire. If I start distrusting them, MonoWither would get what they want! I'm sure this'll all get solved, we'll get rescued or something, and then I can see my friends and family again!_

_I just don't understand... Why am I a part of this? I'm just a normal high school girl... Why am I the one who has to be in this situation? My_ _intuition's_ _telling me something_ _horrible's_ _going to happen and someone's going to kill-_

_No! No no no! Nothing_ _bad's_ _going to happen! As long as I trust everyone, everything will be fine!_

Seto felt horrible chills racing up and down his spine like little scuttling spiders. He thought of Jade, who must have known the real reason why Sky had knocked on her door, forcing herself to let him in just because she wanted to trust him. And then he thought of her dead body lying on the floor, the reward she had gotten for her desperate trust...

He shook his head to clear it. No, most importantly, what had she meant by the first part? In reality, she hadn't remembered anything about entering a lottery?

He thought back to what Tristan had said...

_"...There was never a real lottery. Whoever chose Jade chose her specifically for reasons unknown. A personal vendetta is the most likely reason."_

So this matched up with his words... But did the Puppetmaster truly have a personal vendetta against Jade, of all people? Why? He couldn't think of any logical reason why anyone would hate Jade to such a murderous degree. In the little time he had known her, she had seemed like a gentle, kind girl. Certainly more respectful than some fans he'd seen. Plus, if the Puppetmaster really had hated her personally, why would they have let her get killed first? And why did he and the others get involved?

...Perhaps... Perhaps because she had admired the SDMLs here... the Puppetmaster had trapped everyone here as part of their revenge?

Seto remembered the second piece of paper in his hand and put the first note behind it. To his horror, it was a photograph, the same photo Jade had mentioned. Including Jade, there were 16 students in total and one teacher standing off to the side. Jade was somewhere in the back, her arm placed affectionately around a boy's neck. The boy's eyes were crossed out like everyone's, but Seto could see his red hair and freckles. Was this the "Rory" she had mentioned? Was Rory her boyfriend or something?

Before he could think about the photo more, he heard something that made him jump.

_"Hey Seto... How'd you get in here...?"_

Seto whirled around, his heart racing wildly as he faced MonoWither like a deer in the headlights, caught red-handed.

"Gahhh, you-! What do you have in your hands?!" MonoWither shrieked, trembling in the air with pure anger. "Give that stuff to us, don't touch stuff that isn't yours! You rude, insolent little brat!"

"They're not yours either!" Seto retorted, holding Jade's stuff as he backed away from them.

"Irrelevant! Don't touch stuff that's meant to be kept private! Who said you could come in here, huh? We hid this place for a reason!"

"Wasn't hidden well enough, I guess," Seto muttered, placing the two papers back in the book and putting it on top of the stack. "There, happy now?"

MonoWither's red eyes gleamed as their grins widened slowly. "No."

Seto gulped at how casual they had just sounded. "...R-Rule 4... 'You may investigate the filming area as you please. There are no special restrictions on your actions-'"

"Aghhh! We were hoping you wouldn't remember that!" MonoWither yelled.

"What's this room for, anyway? Why'd you leave all these books here?"

"Hey hey, who needs books when you can read stuff on computers now?" MonoWither asked. "So much data can be preserved in one place and read quickly too! These books are useless to us, they're just filled with things the Order of the Overgrown Flying Lizards did."

"You hate the Order quite a bit, don't you?"

"Who wouldn't? We mean, don't you hate them too? They ruined your whole life, abused you, degraded you, and made you a killer! You should be thankful that we got rid of them, now they can't hurt any more innocent people!"

"Yeah, then you went and did the same things they did; no, possibly even worse..." Seto shook his head. "Whatever, what did the Order do to _you_?"

"None of your business! That's personal stuff! Besides, they had the lamest mascot, we mean really? A dragon? Withers are obviously better! Our mascot represents the good and evil, the hope and despair, the light and darkness that encompass the duality of humanity! Oh, and the three heads also represent the Three Despairs!"

"Three... Despairs? Is that what you and your spies call themselves?"

"Upupupu! The Three Despairs are the ones who brought chaos and hopelessness to all of humanity! Genius, isn't it?"

Seto glared at the laughing machine, wishing he could wipe those wretched grins off their faces. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"What? You're gonna die anyway, who cares. Unless, of course, someone takes action..."

"No one's going to kill anyone!" Seto shouted. "Not this time, no! We've already lost too many people, the rest of us who haven't acted now would have no reason to!"

"Ohhh, well, sadly you may be right about that. That's why we had to up the stakes a little! Of course, it's against your favor entirely."

"This is for the best..." Seto murmured. "When I die, they'll be able to live..."

"Why put yourself and the others through this pain though? Just end it right now! You have a bangle, use it! Deny that you're the spy!"

"And let you watch me succumb to what you want?" Seto retorted. "No, I won't do that. Even if I die, I won't give you the satisfaction of seeing a 'thrilling' death. You'll just have to watch me die slowly."

"Fine, be that way!" MonoWither yelled in annoyance. "Are you done here or what?"

"Well, I've got one more question... What are these two flower crowns for?" Seto asked. He reached over to take one off the hook. "I'm curious. Who made these, and why- _AGH_ _!_ "

With an almost feral snarl, MonoWither lunged at him and latched their jaws on his right arm. Seto shrieked and dropped the crown as he waved his arm wildly. "LET GO OF ME!"

MonoWither let go and hovered in front of him, baring their fangs as they growled. "DON'T TOUCH WHAT ISN'T YOURS!"

Seto gasped in pain as he brought his hand to his arm, examining the wounds. To his relief, the puncture wounds were shallow, but there was still some blood and his whole arm stung like hell. "What the hell was that for?!" he cried out.

MonoWither remained silent for a few moments, trembling violently, before going still. "Hmm, interesting question. Why _did_ we do that..." They grinned. "We don't know! Hah! We weren't expecting to react like that either! Boy, are we just full of surprises! Hahaha!"

"What the hell- What value do those crowns have, huh? Why would you bite me over some stupid flowers?!"

MonoWither looked angry, no, _furious_ again. "You- You're just a stupid thorn in our side, aren't you? Whatever, get out! No one's looking in this direction, so they won't notice you leaving this room! And they'd better not!"

Seto glared at them, but he had no choice but to put his blanket back on and leave.

He took a few steps in the greenhouse, too focused on what new information he needed to mentally process to notice his surroundings, when he realized that the dirt beneath his feet was moving from side to side. He swayed unsteadily, blinking in confusion.

That was when the pain in his stomach started to _burn_.

"Seto, there you are!" Tyler cried out happily, running over to him. "We were looking all over for you, where were you?"

Unable to respond, Seto felt his knees give way and he staggered forward. Tyler caught him, startled and horrified.

"Seto? What's wrong?!"

Seto panted heavily and whimpered, his mind swirling incoherently. He could barely think, let alone speak. He could _feel_ the emptiness inside of his stomach... Food... He wanted, no, _craved_ food so badly...

"Seto?! Seto! What happened to you?! Wh-Why is your arm bleeding- What happened?!"

Seto heard Tyler's frantic and terrified voice, but it was only a vague and distant echo to his throbbing ears despite the fact that Tyler was only a few inches away from him, if the arms supporting his weight meant anything. He couldn't even open his tightly-shut eyes, everything hurt that much.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine! I'm- I'm going to get help!" Tyler shrieked. "Here- Can you walk-? Oh no no no- Seto, don't you dare die on me-!"

Seto wanted to respond, to stop him from sounding so scared and desperate, but he could only cry out in pain.

"HELP!" Tyler shrieked, holding Seto closely. "HELP, SETO'S HURT! COME QUICK!"

The last thing Seto heard was MonoWither laughing hysterically over Tyler's hushed words of encouragement to him, promising him he'd be okay, before his vision faded to black.

* * *

Seto weakly came to as muffled voices penetrated his dim consciousness.

_"You have to help him!"_

That sounded like Tyler...

_"Why should we? It's not our problem sorcerers can't deal with hunger! You should be thankful, he's your speedy ticket to getting out of here!"_

_"That's just cruel!"_ Bonks cried out.

_"Well boo hoo hoo, if you really value his life that much, go kill someone or attempt that parkour course! Don't go asking us to change the rules, that's just cheating!"_

_"_ _I thought you'd value the lives of your spies more,"_ Annie muttered. _"I don't know why you injured his arm, but why would you just leave him to starve?"_

_"Why do you care? According to you, he's the reason why you're all stuck here, right? Isn't his death what you want?"_

_"...It's not right, and you know it,"_ Jason said contemptuously.

_"Too bad, so sad! Besides, we think he's waking up, so this is where we're gonna take our leave!"_

Seto cracked open his eyelids, peering dazedly upwards. He was lying on a bed and surrounded by everyone.

"Seto!" Tyler shouted in relief, turning back to face him. He was sitting on a chair next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

Seto blinked as he shakily brought his hand to his head. "...Where is it...?" he mumbled.

"Where's what?" Tyler asked, panicked.

"...The crown... F-Flowers... Where...?"

Seto forced himself to sit up, but Tyler immediately pushed him back down. "H-Hey, you need rest!"

"I told you not to throw it away! Where is it?!"

"Um, what's he talking about?" Annie asked, confused.

"Oh no! The hunger's made him lose his mind!" Bodil shrieked in dismay.

"I think he's talking about the flower crown you made," Jordan murmured.

"Oh, is that it? I didn't throw it away, see, it's right here!" Tyler stammered frantically, grabbing the crown from the bedside table and handing it to him.

Seto stared down at the crown as it laid there on his lap, blinking again. Something wasn't making sense to him. His right arm was covered with a light bandage, how did that happen? Most importantly, why was everyone surrounding him?

Slowly, everything came flooding back as he regained his senses. He looked back at everyone, embarrassed. "Um..."

"Er, are you okay now?" Jason asked tentatively.

"S-Sorry, um, I don't know what I was thinking just then..." Seto mumbled, putting the crown back where it was and rubbing his forehead. "Where am I?"

"You're in my room!" Tyler chirped.

"We are? I thought it was too dark to see..."

"It was Jordan's idea!" Bonks said proudly. "We stole some torches from the hallway and used mirrors from Annie's room to reflect the light!"

"Heh... Seth taught me that..." Jordan said softly.

"Yeah, it's in return for you lending me your room when I got drunk that one time. But most importantly, how are you feeling?" Tyler asked.

"Um... I've been better..." Seto said quietly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Bodil asked.

Seto gulped. "Tell you what?"

"I don't know, your soul is going to get _devoured_ by your own magic?" Jason asked sarcastically.

Seto didn't say a word.

"We never exactly gave him an opportunity to tell us," Jordan pointed out.

"Is that why you told us not to worry about surviving?" Annie asked.

"...It's not like you're going to be able to do anything about it," Seto replied.

"Still!" Bonks said. "We might be able to- Steven?"

The sound of paper being ripped filled the air as Steven tore a piece from some notebook he had found. He then shredded the sheet into fourths before giving one of the pieces to Seto.

"Um... What do you want me to do?" Seto asked, bewildered.

Steven raised his arm and pressed the paper against Seto's lips repeatedly. Seto flinched and pushed his hand away. "What the- Do you want me to _eat this?!_ "

Steven nodded as he used his other hand to cram another piece into his own mouth before chewing.

Bonks shrieked out loud.

All the blood drained from Jason's face. "Steven, what the hell?!"

"That's not healthy, stop it!" Annie snapped, grabbing the notebook from him.

Tyler tried to lighten the tense atmosphere. "Um, well paper _is_ made out of sugar cane, so it can't be too unhealthy-"

"Still!"

Steven frowned as he swallowed the chewed piece. He offered one to Seto again.

Seto felt ill. "Um... No thank you... M-Maybe later..."

Steven lowered his arm, staring dejectedly down at the floor.

"Oh no, we're going eat _paper_ until we die!" Bodil wailed.

"No, you're not," Seto reminded him. "After all, it's obvious that I'm the one who'll-"

"Don't say that!" Tyler pleaded.

"There's no point in denying it, Tyler," Seto said. "I'm going to be the one to die this time, and that's the truth. It won't take much longer now, I estimate two more days. So... you just have to wait until then and everything will be over. Bart, Dave, and Jerry will be okay, won't they?"

There was an awful silence.

"...So _this_ is what it's come to..." Jordan murmured. "And all I can do is just sit and watch, like always... Never taking action to prevent more deaths... Hoping someone else will do something to stop it..."

"Jordan, what are you talking about?" Bonks asked nervously.

Jordan's eyes were closed. "...Now I know why Seth did what he did..."

Jason tensed apprehensively. "H-Hey, Jordan, you'd better not be thinking what I think you're-"

Before he could finish, Steven suddenly bolted out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Bonks shrieked. "S-Steven?! Wait, where are you going?!" She tried to follow him but stopped when they all heard the PA system turn on.

" **This is an announcement from your hosts. It is now 10 pm. The parkour course and greenhouse will close shortly. Night Time begins now!"**

"Well, I guess there's no more cafeteria to close," Jason muttered.

"Agh! Who cares about the stupid Night Time-!" Bonks cursed under her breath as she sped out of the room, calling out Steven's name.

"What do we do now?" Bodil asked tentatively.

"Guess we have no choice but to sleep. We need to save our strength and energy," Jordan replied. Once again, he had resumed his calm, pragmatic attitude. The walls that hid his emotional vulnerability were up again.

Seto rested his head against the pillow, humming in agreement. Today had been quite... eventful, to say the least.

"Someone will have to stay here and watch Seto," Annie said.

"Wh- He's stuck in bed, what's he going to do?!" Tyler snapped.

"Well one, he can still talk to MonoWither. Two, you're the only one who still trusts him. Three, this is your room, and unless you want to sleep in Seto's freezing-cold room, you're going to have to share a room with someone anyway. Four, his arm's injured and he's prone to passing out; it wouldn't be right to leave him alone, spy or not."

"I only liked the last two things you said..." Tyler mumbled, fidgeting a little. "But I can stay with him... well, only if he's okay with that..."

Seto felt his face go a bit red, but he nodded.

Jason yawned. "All right, well, if you need help, just ask me... If knocking on my door can wake me up, that is."

"Make sure his arm doesn't get infected!" Bodil said. "I- I once watched a movie where someone's arm got so infected they had to cut it off, and- and-!"

Seto found himself chuckling slightly. "No one's going to cut limbs off, Bodil."

"Oh. G-Good! Because- Because you should have all four of your limbs, Seto-!" Bodil laughed nervously as he backed away. "G-Good night!"

"Hold on, how are you going to get in your room?" Jordan asked. "Isn't the floor too bumpy?"

Bodil gulped. "I'll be fine!"

Jason pointed out, "I could help you get inside, but getting out again's gonna be a problem, so..."

"Well I'd offer you my bed, but the floor is covered in slime," Jordan said, grimacing. "At least the bed's okay?"

"You could share my room if you don't mind the empty hooks all over the ceiling," Jason said.

"No! No, it's fine, I'll just- um- uh- uh- stay out in the lobby!"

"Come on Bodil, does this have to do with your Forbidden Action or something?" Annie asked, rolling her eyes.

Bodil let out a shriek of terror. "NO! D-DEFINITELY NOT!"

"You're not fooling anybody," Tyler said. "You've been acting weird this whole time."

"Whatever it is, spending the night outside won't be in your favor," Seto murmured. "The spies already know our Forbidden Actions. If they wanted to kill you, you'd make it even easier for them if you stayed by yourself."

"Agh! N-None of you understand! This is the only way I can protect myself!" Bodil shrieked before speeding away, shoving the door open before leaving.

"Hey! Bodil, what the hell?!" Jason shouted before running after him.

Jordan sighed. "These bangles pose a problem... What if someone accidentally activates another's?"

"Well it's too risky to reveal them, in my opinion," Annie murmured.

"Yeah, what if someone has something like 'revealing one's Forbidden Action' or even 'hearing or seeing someone's Forbidden Action'?" Tyler asked.

"Hopefully things turn out all right," Jordan said quietly. "But I think I'll go to bed too."

"So will I," Annie said, nodding. "We all need as much rest as possible, so good night, you two."

The two of them left, leaving Seto and Tyler alone. There was an awkward silence.

Tyler gulped. "How's your arm?"

"...It's fine. MonoWither's teeth aren't as sharp as they look."

"That's good..." Tyler's voice trailed off.

Seto stared at Tyler, whose entire body shaking uncontrollably. "...Tyler?"

Tyler flinched and stared at him. "Y-Yeah?" he asked, grinning.

Seto knew it was fake. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing's wrong-"

_"Tyler."_

"Everything's fine-"

"Tyler, be honest to me."

"I just don't understand why you won't deny it!" Tyler shouted suddenly, startling Seto. "You know you aren't the spy, how come you never insist you aren't? No, instead you just take everything Annie and the others tell you! Why?! Why do you do this to yourself?!"

"Why do you even trust me?" Seto asked glumly. "I don't understand what I did-"

"I don't know, it's just a feeling!" Tyler retorted. "And you're avoiding the subject!"

"You know that so much evidence points to me. If I was someone else, I'd suspect me too."

"Well that doesn't change the fact that you aren't the spy!"

Seto glared at him. "How can you say that for sure?!"

Tyler's face paled. "...Because... Because I'd be dead by now..."

Seto's eyes widened. "Wh-What? What are you talking about?"

Tyler hesitated before looking around. "Um... Is it okay if I..." He raised his bangle and pointed at it.

"Well- I guess it's okay, but I don't see how-"

Tyler pressed the button.

_**BEING ALONE IN THE SAME ROOM WITH A SPY.** _

Seto stared at the glowing red words, unable to process them for a few moments. He read them over and over again, yet they only seemed to make even less sense...

"See? If you were one of the spies, I'd be dead right now!" Tyler sounded so happy about this...

Seto couldn't explain the sudden feeling of anger that boiled up in his chest. "Are- Are you an _idiot?!_ "

Now it was Tyler's turn to look shocked. "What?!"

"How can you be this stupid?!" Seto shrieked. "You- How could you- You didn't even hesitate, you actually _offered_ to watch over me, knowing you had that as your Forbidden Action! Do you have a death wish or something?! Are you asking yourself to get killed?!"

"Well I knew you weren't a spy already, this just sealed the deal, that's all!"

"What if you were wrong and I really was one of them, huh?! Then you'd be dead right now! _Dead!_ _Killed!_ "

"Well you weren't one of them, I'm alive, so it doesn't matter!"

"Yes it does!"

"Why are you so mad about this?!"

"I just don't understand why you'd trust me so much in the first place!" Seto yelled, his voice cracking. He looked away. "I don't understand... Why don't you hate me like the others?" he whispered.

"They don't hate you!" Tyler exclaimed. "When you passed out, they were all worried! Even Annie! She was the one who bandaged your arm! S-Sure, they... um... have their suspicions, but they don't hate you. If they did, they wouldn't have helped you!"

Seto shook his head, laughing bitterly. "No... They just did that because they're good people."

"What?"

"They're good people... They would help anyone in need... Even someone like me..."

"What do you mean by 'someone like me'?"

Seto choked up as he stared at the ceiling.

"...Well... I don't know about you, but I think you're a strong person to look up to... You almost always know what to do..."

Seto laughed again and blinked rapidly. "You should save your words for someone who actually fits that description."

"Seto!"

"And someone who'll actually live."

"Don't say that! Didn't you say that we shouldn't lose hope?!"

"...I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Okay, um... What _do_ you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. Distract me or something," Seto muttered, looking away.

"Hmm, uh... You have... nice hair?"

Seto flinched and inadvertently let out a startled squeak. "What kind of distraction is that?!"

Tyler's face was as red as his jacket. "Well it's true!"

"No it's not! It's a huge mess!"

"It's really curly, fluffy, and soft!"

"How do you know it's soft if you've never touched it before?"

"Um..."

Seto stared at Tyler. "...You did not."

Tyler laughed sheepishly. "Sorry?"

"I was _sleeping_!"

"I was just brushing some hair from your eyes and then I noticed you had this!" Tyler poked at a curly lock of hair that was sticking out from the top of his head.

Seto reached up and felt it. "Eek!" he cried out, sitting up slightly and rushing to smooth it down. "Is it gone?!"

Tyler giggled. "Nope."

Seto tried again, this time with even more desperation. "What about now?"

"Still there."

"...Now?"

"It's just popping back up no matter how hard you try, give it up," Tyler said, laughing. "Besides, I think it's a nice look."

Seto sank his head back into the pillow, embarrassed. "I say it's messy..."

"You look different without your cloak on," Tyler observed.

"Yeah, I wonder why," Seto scoffed.

"I never realized you were this, um, skinny..."

Seto glared at him. "Thinking of eating me or something?"

"Agh, what?! No!"

"I knew it, you've been a depraved cannibal all along. How could you?"

"It's just that you used to wear that cloak all the time for some reason!"

Seto tensed up. "It's traditional for sorcerers to wear-"

"Even with the hood up?"

"I mean, I'm sure you've seen it by now."

"Um... Seen what?"

Seto sighed. "You know..." He gestured to the back of his head.

Tyler stared at him like he'd suddenly sprouted wings. "Uh, no I don't."

"The scar?"

"What scar?!"

"Don't tell me you're that nearsighted! I'm sure everyone was talking about it!"

"No one mentioned anything about seeing a scar! And my eyesight's bad, but I'm pretty sure it's not _that_ bad!"

"Just look at it!" Seto shrieked, sitting up and turning away from Tyler.

"...What am I supposed to be looking at?! I don't see a scar!"

Seto ran his finger down the middle of his head. "This one!"

Tyler peered closely. "Uh... I mean I guess it's a little bit pinker than the rest?"

"P-Pink? It's red, it's super obvious and stands out!"

"Seto... When did you get this 'scar'?"

Seto gulped. "...16... 15 years ago maybe?"

"And... When was the last time you looked at it yourself?"

Seto didn't reply.

Tyler twiddled his thumbs. "Seto, um... I don't really know what happened to you in your past, I mean I accidentally heard a bit from MonoWither when he was talking to you that morning, but... I think you have the wrong image of yourself-"

"-No I don't."

"You got all insecure about this scar you used to have, but in reality no one can see it unless they're looking super closely. You said something about "people like you" and I'm 99% sure that wasn't supposed to mean something good."

"Maybe you're the one who's gotten the wrong impression of me," Seto mumbled. "You're just being nice like you always are."

"Well- Well you're a nice person too, why can't you be nice to yourself, huh? You're too harsh on yourself! You need to have better self-esteem-"

"-Stop talking."

"No, I won't! I won't stop until you understand-"

"-Stop talking," Seto repeated urgently through clenched teeth.

Tyler's face paled when he saw that Seto was clutching his stomach again, his expression nauseated and unfocused. "Ah! I'm sorry!" he cried out, rushing to push him back down on the bed. Seto weakly tried to resist, but he had suddenly lost all his strength. "You really should sleep, you need to rest!"

"Mmm..." Seto mumbled vaguely as Tyler covered him with the blankets.

"Good night Seto... Don't worry, you'll be fine... I'm sure you'll be fine..." Tyler whispered softly.

Seto wanted to argue, but before he knew it, he was already drifting off into a blissful sleep...


	43. The Darkest Hour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At around 8400 words, we have a new longest chapter. Why do I do this to myself... I hope you like it anyway.

_Seto_ _was lying on a hard surface in a fetal position, his eyes closed tightly as he whimpered in agony. His whole body felt like it was on fire and being torn apart with sharp needles. Everything hurt so much..._

"Hey, are you there?" _someone asked with annoyance._

_Startled, Seto's eyes shot open and found themselves staring at... his own reflection?_

_But no, this reflection was that of him when he was a young child... and this child had red eyes..._

_"So it takes three days of no food for us to finally meet," Slotty muttered, also curled up in a fetal position. "Well, not counting when I was in a few of your nightmares, although that was fun."_

_Seto blinked in bewilderment, taking in his surroundings as best he could (he could barely raise his head for a few seconds). The room seemed pitch-black, but the only sources of light were from their glowing, fiery auras. Seto's was purple while_ _Slotty's_ _was red._

_"So, not going to say anything, huh?" Slotty asked contemptuously. Although he looked angry on the outside, his eyes betrayed his misery and weariness. Was he also suffering the same pain as Seto?_

_"...Where... where are we...?" Seto asked weakly._

_Slotty scoffed. "You know, the place you go in your mind when I'm in control?"_

_"...What...?"_

_"_ _Oooh_ _, that's right, you wouldn't know. You've never been in here long enough to actually wake up. You've never spent years and years stuck in here, unable to do anything!" Slotty snapped. "It used to have stuff, but now because we're starving to death, I don't have the strength to make anything appear_ _anym_ _-" Slotty cut himself off with a sudden gasp as he winced, curling up even further. He panted heavily as a piece of his aura actually ripped apart, floating away before dissipating into the air. "S-See what you've done?! Now we're both dying! We're getting eaten up by our own magic!"_

_"That's not my fault..." Seto mumbled._

_"How is it not your fault?! You won't kill anyone! You're being weak like Master always used to say!"_

_Seto gritted his teeth. "I would never kill my friends._ _But you wouldn't know what that feels like, wouldn't you? Having a friend?"_

_"Shut up!" Slotty shouted. "I know more than you! You're the one without any real friends! Friendship is like having a master to serve!"_

_"...No, it's not."_

_"Well you wouldn't know, you're the one who killed our Master!"_

_Seto's eyes widened. "Wh-What are you talking about?"_

_"Don't act like you're innocent! You're the one who took over control and killed Master!"_

_"You're the liar! You're the one who killed him! I had no control over it, you did! You're the only one who can turn into a dragon!"_

_"I would never kill my Master! You're the one who always disobeyed him like the waste of space you are!"_

_Seto opened his mouth to retort, but he found himself crying out as a blinding wave of pain crashed over him, making his whole body tense up. When he came to, he was shaking violently. Had he too just lost a piece of his soul?_

_"Wow, you've really become weak, haven't you?" Slotty asked. "I guess that's why you finally woke up here and I can talk to you. But you're super selfish, you know? You know that if you die, I'll die too. Maybe you're fine with dying, but I'm not! I want to live!"_

_"Why should you deserve to live?" Seto spat, rage boiling in his chest. "You- you killed and tortured all those innocent people!"_

_"I did it because Master wanted me to!"_

_"You're just a monster who ruined my life!"_

_"No,_ you're _the one who ruined_ my _life! You should have died in that operation, but you just had to make the experiment a failure! I could have been a perfect servant for Master, but you had to ruin everything for me!"_

_The two of them glared at each other reproachfully, but they each knew that they were too weak to do anything about it._ _Besides, killing one half would kill the other._

_"At least... consider killing someone?" Slotty asked hopefully._

_"Never..." Seto hissed back in reply. "I'll gladly die if it means I get to save everyone and take you with me... Then everyone we hurt will finally get justice..."_

_"Fine! Be that_ _way_ _! Besides, I've been watching your memories and..." Slotty tried to grin but found himself coughing violently. "...and... I think someone else is going to die before we do... So don't worry about it too much..."_

_Seto's face paled. "Who?"_

_"Why would I tell you? Besides... it's just a hunch..."_

_"Tell me! Tell me who!"_

_"_ _Ehhh_ _, a few people. Mostly that... um... Stevie...? Steven? That weird monster man..."_

_"Why Steven?" Seto asked, bewildered._

_"I don't know, I said it's just a hunch..." Slotty grumbled._

_"S... Steven... might die...?" Seto blinked groggily and yawned, overcome with sudden lethargy._

_"Oh, guess you're waking up. Sucks, you only got a few hours of sleep."_

_"Huh?"_

_"You know, our body's waking up."_

_"It's_ my _body, not yours."_

_"It should have been mine..."_

_"No one else is going to die but me... and you..." Seto mumbled._

_"Hah! We'll see about that! You're not strong enough to save everyone, no matter how much you want to! They're going to die in despair, and you can't stop it!"_

_That was the last thing Seto heard before everything went black._

* * *

When Seto woke up, the first thing he registered was something pressing against the side of his hip. He turned his head and saw Tyler still sitting on his chair, but he was bent over and pressing his face down on the bed with his arms folded in front of his head. Tyler's arms pressed against Seto's hip again as Tyler flinched in his sleep, murmuring something muffled by the mattress.

Guilt washed over Seto as he realized that Tyler had let him hog his bed, forcing him to sleep on the chair. It had also clearly been a conscious decision, given that Tyler had taken the time to "dim" the lights by turning the mirrors around so that they blocked the candlelight. Seto sat up and thought about making Tyler take the bed instead when he heard Tyler whimper loudly.

"N-No..." Tyler mumbled, twitching as his breath hitched repeatedly. He turned his head from side to side, the fabric rubbing roughly against his skin. "No... 'M sorry... Sorry... Sky..."

Seto paused for a moment before reaching out and running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to comfort him. He felt his stomach twist as Tyler choked out a pained sob, shuddering more intensely. "P... Please no..." he whispered in a soft, broken voice. "No, no, no... Please... No..."

Seto quickly shook Tyler's shoulder. "Tyler!" he hissed. "Wake up!"

Tyler moaned in anguish. "Please!"

"Tyler, _wake up!_ "

Tyler sat up with a jolt, his eyes widened in absolute terror as he screamed. " _SETO, NO_ _!_ " he cried out in desperation, before panting heavily and looking up to meet Seto's gaze.

They stared at each other for a few moments, not sure what to say. Seto noticed that Tyler's face was blotched red and covered in wet tears.

Noticing the tears as well, Tyler blinked rapidly and wiped them away, forcing a laugh. "Oh- I'm sorry- I didn't wake you, did I? Sorry about that, I had the worst dream, you know it happens sometimes, nothing special-"

"Tyler," Seto interrupted.

Tyler gulped. "Yes?"

"What were you dreaming about?"

Tyler fidgeted awkwardly, clasping his hands together in his lap and twiddling his thumbs. "I... um... F-Funny you should ask that, hehe..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but... why was I in your dream?" Seto asked hesitantly. He was afraid of the answer. If Seto had been in Tyler's nightmare and terrified him to such a degree, then that could only mean...

"Does your arm hurt?" Tyler asked, looking at Seto's bandaged arm. "How are you feeling overall?"

Seto bit his lip in disappointment. Well, he did say that Tyler didn't have to tell him. "Does it matter? It's only going to get worse from here."

"Don't _say that!_ " Tyler shouted suddenly. "Why do you want to die so badly?! It's like you don't care about your life at all!"

"As long as everyone else gets to live, I don't see a problem-"

"Well you should! Why do you have to be a sacrifice?! There must be another way!"

"This is the easiest way," Seto murmured, closing his eyes. However, they shot open in surprise when Tyler suddenly grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him forward so that their faces were inches apart.

"You have to find another way!" he shrieked, shaking Seto desperately and peering straight into his eyes. "Promise me you'll try to survive this!"

Seto was too stunned to reply properly. "B-But-"

"Please! Please, you have to live! You have to at least try! Just promise me you'll try! _Please!_ " Tyler howled before bowing his head, resting it on Seto's chest. "Please... I can't lose anyone else..." he whispered.

Seto stared down at him, his mind swirling. He sounded so upset, it hurt to watch...

Tyler slowly let go of Seto and sat up, sniffling again. "S-Sorry about that-"

"I promise."

Tyler looked up in surprise. "You what?"

"I promise I'll try," Seto said quietly.

Tyler's eyes lit up. "You- You will?"

Seto nodded after a moment. "If it makes you feel better..."

"Don't do it for me! Do it for yourse-"

"Do you want me to change my mind?"

Tyler's face fell. "No... But... I just don't get why- Ahh!" Tyler hissed as he clutched his abdomen, wincing in pain.

"T-Tyler? What's wrong?" Seto asked, rushing to grab his shoulders and support him.

Tyler breathed through clenched teeth for a few moments before relaxing. "N-Nothing- Nothing's wrong-" he stammered weakly. "Nothing... Nothing's..." Tyler's eyes rolled back in his head as he went limp and collapsed forward on the bed in front of Seto.

_"Tyler!"_ Seto quickly pulled him up and turned him over so he was lying on his back, his lower legs dangling off the side of the bed. Poor Tyler had passed out completely. Three days of no food was clearly taking its toll on him too.

Seto stared at him for a few moments, thinking carefully, before he narrowed his eyes in resolve. He knew what he had to do to keep his promise. Seto slowly got off the bed and stood up on shaky legs, moving Tyler so that his head was on the pillow. He gently brushed the hair from his eyes and covered him with the blanket before taking his own and wrapping it around himself. However, there was still one more problem he needed to take care of.

Seto opened the door and peeked outside. As luck would have it, he saw Bonks standing in the hallway, lost in thought. "Bonks?" he asked, approaching her.

"Eek!" Bonks shrieked, whirling around. "Oh- Seto-! You scared me!"

"Sorry..." he mumbled, looking away awkwardly.

"It's fine, I was just a bit distracted..."

They went silent.

"Um... Is there any way to lock the doors?" Seto asked.

Bonks sighed. "No, we never got keys..."

"I thought so," Seto murmured.

"Have you seen Steven anywhere?"

That question startled Seto. "No, I only now just left Tyler's room. Why?"

"After he ran out last night, I chased after him, but I couldn't find him! I went into his room because it wasn't locked, but he wasn't there. So I checked pretty much everywhere I could, but because it was Night Time, the parkour course and the greenhouse were off-limits. Night Time hasn't ended yet, but I'm pretty sure he's in there... right?" Bonks trembled in fear as she crossed her arms. "I'm worried about him... Ever since he lost Bart and Dave, he hasn't been the same..."

Seto thought for a moment before making his decision. "Well, this isn't exactly related, but can I ask you a favor?"

Bonks stiffened. "Um- A favor-?" she stammered, stepping away nervously. "Wh-What kind of favor-?"

"I know this is going to sound weird, but just hear me out-"

"Hear you out?!" For some reason, Bonks looked like she was on the verge of bolting out of the scene, like she was fighting her instincts of fight and flight.

"Tyler's not doing so well. He fainted because he hasn't eaten in days."

Bonks' posture relaxed slightly, although her terrified expression changed to that of concern. "Oh no! Is he okay?"

"He's sleeping right now, but..." Seto glanced at the door. "With no lock, he's unprotected. It wouldn't be safe to leave him alone."

"Aren't you going to stay with him then?"

"I can't."

"...Why not?"

"I have to do something."

"Like what? Annie said that we shouldn't keep you out of our sight."

Seto bit his lip. "Please, trust me this once. Just keep watching over Tyler and make sure he isn't alone and unguarded. I promise I want to help everyone."

Bonks hesitated for a few moments before sighing in resignation. "Fine... I'll make sure Tyler's safe..."

"You have to make sure he _isn't alone_!"

"I won't, I promise I won't leave him alone. Just- Just don't do anything dumb while you're gone!"

"Thank you," Seto said in relief. Bonks started walking over to Tyler's room when Seto spoke up again. "One last thing?"

"Yeah?" Bonks asked, turning around.

Seto tried to force down the feeling of guilt. "...If... If something happens to me... Tell Tyler I tried to keep my promise..."

Bonks' eyes widened. "Wh-What are you talking about-?"

"Just tell him if something happens. Please."

"I... I will..." Bonks said falteringly.

"Thank you," Seto repeated.

Bonks gave him one last concerned look before entering Tyler's room and closing the door behind her. Seto released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and walked towards the end of the hallway where the elevator was. Obviously, there was no way Seto would ever survive the parkour course, so the only other option was to try the VIP Floor MonoWither had mentioned.

His hand shook as he raised it and pressed the button. The doors slid open, revealing a normal elevator. Seto cautiously walked inside before looking around. He quickly found the panel of push buttons, which only had one button: an up button. There was obviously a lot of choices in terms of direction, Seto noted dryly, as he pressed the button and the doors slid shut. However, a second later, the lights flickered out and plunged Seto into darkness. Seto swallowed down his fear as the elevator rose up, ignoring its strange, sour smell. He couldn't afford to be afraid now. He had nothing to lose...

The elevator came to a gradual halt and the doors slid open.

Seto took one look inside the dark room before him.

And then he swore his heart stopped.

_"...Steven?"_

* * *

Steven was kneeling down on the cobblestone floor, his head pressing down onto the ground as he clutched his black hair. Seto gulped as he hesitantly approached him. "Steven?" he repeated, a sickening sense of dread rising within him with each step he took. He could hear Steven making terrified whimpering sounds as he trembled on the floor.

_"Bart... Dave... don't leave me... no..."_

"Steven!" Seto hissed, grabbing his shoulder and flipping him over. Steven's eyes were clamped tightly shut and his face was stained with old tear tracks.

"No- No!" Steven choked out hoarsely. "Come back!"

"Steven, wake up! Wake up!" Seto shouted, shaking him violently.

"Mom... Dad... I'm sorry..."

Desperate, Seto raised his hand and slapped Steven's face. "Wake up!"

Steven's eyes shot open as he finally woke up... at least, it seemed like he did.

"Steven, are you okay-"

_"Ah!"_ Steven shrieked, pushing Seto away and scrambling backward on all fours. "G-Get away from me- No-! You're supposed to be dead-!" Steven's eyes seemed fixated on Seto, filled with horror.

"What?" Seto asked, dumbstruck. "Steven, what are you... talking... about..." Suddenly, Seto felt all his muscles tense up in apprehension as he heard the familiar sounds of someone's boots thudding against the floor, approaching him.

_"Seto... why aren't you facing your master?"_

Seto's body seemed to move against his will as he turned around to see Master Hennessy standing there. However, he looked just like he had the last time Seto had seen him...

"Now, now Seto... Don't tell me you're disgusted... You're the one who made me like this, after all..." Master Hennessy said, stepping forward despite the fact that his body had been brutally torn to shreds.

Seto's breaths quickened as he backed away, unable to tear his eyes from the horrible, gory sight. "I'm sorry- It was Slotty- not me-"

_"Lying is bad, Seto..."_

Seto whirled around with a barely stifled shriek. His father, his face blue and swollen, had his arm wrapped around a woman. This rather short, russet-haired, and freckled woman was someone he had only seen in a photograph, but she now looked very, very real. Real, and with a pale and deadened face.

"We could have lived a long, happy life together... if it weren't for you..." Seto's father said, glaring at him. "There's no one to blame but you, Seto..."

Seto whined in terror as eight more figures emerged from the shadows and surrounded him, all sporting their mortal wounds.

_"You failed to save us..."_

_"You executed us..."_

_"You just stood there and watched us die, you monster..."_

"No..." Seto said faintly, his choked sobs overwhelming him as he stared in terror. "I'm sorry... I wanted to save you... I really did..."

All of the dead people spoke in unison.

_"Why do you get to live instead of us?"_

"I... I-!"

_"You don't deserve this life... You never did... All you ever do is hurt others..."_

More and more bloodied corpses emerged by the dozens. First, there were the 16 Hope Organization members who had died just the day before. Then came the people who had perished during Seto's time with the Order. There were so many, Seto couldn't even see all of them.

_"Why continue living? Why don't you just die right now? Why fight to live?"_ everyone asked.

Seto looked around wildly, completely paralyzed in fear. He felt like it was a cobra slowly choking him to death. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't even think. His heart was pounding like it was about to explode from his chest and everything felt too real. He couldn't escape...

_"Continue to live, and the others will soon join us... They don't trust you, and for a good reason..."_

To Seto's growing horror, the blood from everyone's wounds began spilling by the gallons, collecting on the floor and covering Seto's bare feet. The sticky warmth and metallic smell made Seto choke, but he couldn't move, not even as the blood formed a pool that was rapidly rising.

_"There's too much blood on your hands... You'll never redeem yourself..."_

The crimson blood rose up and up, reaching his chest.

"No-! I didn't want to hurt anyone-! Please believe me!"

Seto was hyperventilating but still paralyzed, although he was able to crane his neck in a feeble attempt to avoid being submerged.

_"You can't save anyone... We've all died because of you... Because you're worthless..."_

Seto barely managed to take a sharp breath and close his eyes before the blood covered his face. Suddenly, the floor beneath him collapsed and he was sinking down into the unknown depths.

_"Everyone else will meet the same fate... And you can't do anything about it..."_

Although he was engulfed completely, Seto could hear everyone's tortured screams loudly and clearly. Seto panicked as he writhed desperately, struggling to swim, but he couldn't, he didn't know how to, he couldn't hold his breath for much longer, the hot blood was going to boil him alive if he didn't drown to death first and he knew he deserved it all, every last bit of this suffocating, endless, warranted torture-

_"SETO, WAKE UP!"_

Seto jolted awake with a loud gasp for breath. Air, he had air! He could breathe again! In those moments, oxygen was the most precious thing Seto had ever possessed. He was so relieved, he almost wanted to laugh.

After making sure that he was not, in fact, surrounded by corpses and drowning in a pool of blood, Seto noticed that Steven was kneeling beside him, gripping his shoulders, and staring down at him with worry and concern.

Seto coughed a little. "Steven? What... happened...?"

Steven sighed in relief and let go of him, but didn't reply. It seemed like Steven had once again gone mute. Seto thought back to what had happened before his hallucination. (He couldn't think of a better term for it.) He had gone to the VIP Floor, seen Steven hallucinating as well and woke him up, before experiencing something similar.

The only explanation he could think of was the strange smell in the elevator. It must have been some sort of hallucinatory gas. But if that was true, then that must mean Steven...

Seto sat up slightly by propping himself up on his elbows before turning to face Steven, who was staring down at the floor with a solemn, weary expression.

"Steven... did you go through this for hours?" Seto asked, horrified.

Steven met his gaze briefly before looking away, pained. There were dark bags under his exhausted eyes.

"Then if I hadn't woken you up..." Seto trailed off, not willing to picture it.

Steven suddenly lunged forward and embraced Seto.

"Oh-! Um... Thank you too... for waking me up..." Seto said shyly, patting his back. "I'm glad you're okay..."

Steven let go of him and pointed at the elevator.

"What are you trying to say?" Seto asked.

Steven jabbed at Seto's chest with his finger before pointing at the elevator again.

"...You want me to go back?" Seto said incredulously. "No! I'm not leaving you here!"

Steven closed his eyes as he stood up and walked behind Seto, kneeling down.

"H-Hey, what are you- HEY!"

Steven looped his arms around Seto's armpits and pulled him up before dragging him backward towards the elevator.

"Let go! Hey! Stop!" Seto shouted, writhing desperately to no avail.

_Shit, he's stronger than he looks! I have to think of some other_ _way_ _to stop him!_

"You can't take me back! It's impossible!"

Steven paused briefly and stared down at him in confusion.

"You were in the elevator, right? There's only an up button! There's no way you'd be able to get me back down to the first floor!"

Steven dropped Seto and ran to the elevator, only to see that there wasn't even a button to open it. Undeterred, Steven struggled to pry apart the doors with his hands, even trying to use his foot to separate them.

"Stop it, Steven, it's no use! We're stuck here!" Seto shouted, shakily rising to his feet and pulling him away. "Like it or not, I'm here with you."

Steven finally gave up, although he glared at the elevator with frustration.

"Look, there's a door over there. That's our only way out," Seto said, gesturing as he made his way towards it.

Steven hesitated for a moment before finally conceding and following him.

Together, the two of them entered the next room.

* * *

To their surprise, the room was relatively empty. There didn't seem to be any visible exit. All it had was a small table, and on top of that table was...

"...A gun?" Seto said in disbelief, approaching it hesitantly. Specifically, t was a revolver with an eight-shot cylinder, and it had a MonoWither face on its grip. There were eight bullets lying on the table and a note.

Steven grabbed the note and began reading it before Seto could.

"What does it say?" Seto asked.

Steven's eyes scanned the paper carefully as they widened in growing horror.

"What does it say?" he repeated.

Steven glanced up at him sharply before crumpling the paper and clutching it to his chest.

"H-Hey! What does it say?!"

Steven shook his head and backed away, hunching over to shield the paper.

"Steven, please be honest with me. Just tell me what it says or we'll never get out of here." Seto reached his hand out towards Steven.

Steven paused for a few seconds before reluctantly giving the paper to him.

Seto unfolded the paper as quickly as he could without ripping the sheet and read its contents.

_Dear Guest,_

_We at MonoWither's All-Inclusive Resort hope that you are enjoying the recreational VIP Floor. To reach the next room and delight yourself with further fun activities, you MUST complete this simple yet classic game._

_Before you is a revolver gun and 8 bullets. We hope you know how to load the bullets, but if you don't, pray for beginner's luck! Anyway, everyone knows the game of Russian Roulette. It's a must-have for any sensible resort! It adds the perfect amount of thrill and anxiety to any party!_

_In this version of Russian Roulette, you may add as many bullets as you want (add all 8 if you want to, we won't stop you! After what you've just seen, it's a perfect response!), but one is the bare minimum. You must spin the chamber, point the gun at your head, and pull the trigger at least once! If you have friends with you, anyone can attempt._

_That's all there is to it!_ _We hope you enjoy this thrilling game and we'd like to thank you in advance for possibly painting our walls for free! Crimson is the perfect shade for paint, don't you think? Why else is there the word "pain" in "paint"?_

_Sincerely,_   
_MonoWither_

Seto lowered the paper. "Even when I think I'm used to their sadism, they always manage to surprise me," he muttered contemptuously.

Steven nodded in assent before raising his left arm, clenching his jaw as he glared at his bangle with frustration.

"What's wrong?" Seto asked.

Steven flinched as a guilty look crossed his face. He drew himself inward to hide the bangle, but then changed his mind and reached for the button, pressing it.

_DIRECTLY KILLING YOURSELF_ _(will result in Bart and Dave's deaths)_

"...Steven, that's..." Seto said in disbelief, trailing off. "If you didn't have that as your Forbidden Action, would you have really killed yourself to save them?"

Steven nodded without hesitation.

"Um... I'm glad you trusted me enough to show me that, but why now? I don't under-..." Seto looked at the note again, realization striking him. "Oh, Steven, I wouldn't have let you do it anyway. I'm the one who's dying, I should be the one to do it."

The conflicted, remorseful expression on Steven's face showed how much he both wanted and did not want to stop Seto.

Seto picked up the revolver and a bullet, trying to breathe as steadily as possible. However, he couldn't seem to get his hands to stop shaking violently as he attempted to put the bullet into the chamber. He struggled to calm down but didn't quite succeed, and he ended up dropping the bullet onto the floor with a clinking sound. "Fuck," he cursed under his breath, scrabbling for a few moments to pick the metal object up with sweaty fingers before finally doing it.

Steven looked at him with utter helplessness, sympathy, and sadness-his doleful black eyes said it all.

Seto took several deep breaths. "You can do this," he whispered to himself as he pushed the bullet inside. "Th-There we go..." He gulped as he spun the chamber so that he couldn't see where the bullet was.

Steven whimpered slightly, backing away.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," Seto said, trying to reassure him (and himself). "It- It's just logic! The weight of the bullet means that it's most likely at the bottom of the cylinder... Plus, the odds are seven to one... 87.5% chance of survival..."

Steven did not look very reassured, to say the least. He actually started covering his ears with his hands and trembled on the spot.

Seto's hand shook as he raised the gun and pressed the barrel against the side of his head. His other hand clutched the blanket that was still wrapped around his figure. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. Sick to his stomach, Seto tried to swallow down the rising bile and get a hold of himself. He wanted to say some last words to Steven just in case, but at the same time, he was so nervous he couldn't think of a single thing. No, he couldn't keep hesitating! He had to do it, or he and Steven would never get out!

Seto shut his eyes tightly and pulled the trigger.

_Click._

Seto gasped sharply in relief and immediately placed the gun back down on the table. He pushed his hair back with his fingers, laughing shakily under his breath. "I did it- I can't believe I did it-" he stammered fervidly.

Steven let out a huge breath and smiled slowly, equally relieved, as he lowered his hands from his ears and approached Seto.

"S-See? I told you it would be okay..." Seto said. "Now how do we get out of here?"

Right on cue, a stone column from the wall pushed itself outward before swinging open like a door, revealing a long and slightly narrow hallway. It was dark, but it led to a room at the end. Seto and Steven looked at each other before hesitantly stepping inside.

That was when the column slid shut again, trapping them in the corridor. Steven squeaked and tried pushing the entrance open, but it was no use. Seto and Steven were too scared to move forward through the darkness, despite the fact that they could see the next room on the other side in the distance. All they could hear was their own breaths and strange scuttling sounds above them. Where had Seto heard these noises before? He felt like he should know, but his mind was starting to get muddled from the hunger...

Steven suddenly grabbed Seto's wrist and pulled him forward, running full speed ahead. "W-Wait!" Seto shouted, struggling to keep up. "Steven, what are you-"

_BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

The ground shook as something huge crashed down behind them. Seto looked over his shoulder and saw that stone walls were rapidly plummeting down from the ceiling, one by one, towards them. If they couldn't outrun this onslaught, they'd be crushed and flattened into a bloody mess... Unfortunately, Seto's breathing was already winded with exhaustion and his legs felt like they would fall off at any minute. The only thing keeping him going was raw adrenaline and Steven's firm grip on his arm as he continued dragging him towards the light.

Suddenly, Seto tripped over his own feet and collapsed to the ground. Steven stopped and turned back, horrified. Seto struggled to get up, but he could hear the walls approaching fast. "Go, Steven!" Seto shrieked desperately. "Go on without me!"

Steven ignored him as he rushed to his side and pulled him up. Seto instinctively reached for the blanket that he had dropped, but Steven dragged him away before he could grab it, forcing him to leave it behind. The blanket was the least of his worries as they once again ran for their lives. Seto could barely keep his head up, so he had no idea how far away the room was. All he could do was blindly trust in Steven and follow him.

Before he knew it, they were engulfed in light as they finally reached the room. Seto and Steven stopped running and turned around, watching as the walls crashed down before stopping at the last one. Seto sank to his knees and panted heavily, completely debilitated and slightly nauseous. Steven crouched down next to him, concerned and worried, also breathing heavily. "I'm fine..." Seto wheezed. "Thank you... for saving me..."

Steven nodded in acknowledgment as he stood up and looked around. There was a large glass wall on one side of the room and a pair of huge doors on the other. They could see a morning sky outside the glass. Steven walked over to it and tapped the clear surface, confirming that the barrier was indeed glass and not more digital screens (although the morning sky probably was made by said screens). Seto crawled over to the glass and looked down to see...

"The greenhouse?" Seto wondered aloud. It looked quite small from their perspective, although there appeared to be a nice green field around it (definitely the result of more digital effects). The VIP Floor was higher up than he'd thought.

Steven turned away and examined the doors next. He tried turning the knobs but found the doors were locked. There was an e-Handbook scanner next to them. Steven pulled his out and tried scanning it, but the light only flashed red.

_"Well, well, well, what do we have here?!"_ MonoWither appeared suddenly, startling them both. "Congratulations to the both of you! It seems you've successfully overcome the three trials of the VIP Floor! The first was a challenge of the mind; a conquering of one's worst memories and fears! (The gas would have worn off after a few hours, FYI!) The second was a challenge of the spirit; overcoming the fear of our unknown destiny! And finally, the third was a challenge of the body; overcoming physical adversity in the face of approaching death! Body, mind, and spirit! (Fun fact, if you transmit specific electrical waves, you can control what silverfish do!)"

"Your favorite number is three, isn't it..." Seto muttered. "First there's the fact you chose a three-headed Wither as your mascot, then you went on some tirade about the duality of hope and despair existing in one person or something like that, and then you told me about the 'Three Despairs'..."

At the mention of the last point, Steven gave Seto a strange, perplexed expression.

"Why, what's wrong with the number three, huh? It's a beautiful number... Anyway, now you've finally unlocked the secret of the VIP Floor, so we'll do the honors!" The scanner flashed green. "Behold, a way to escape your current predicament and reclaim your lost possessions!"

Seto peered inside, filled with apprehension and dread, as the doors slid open.

And then he felt his heart drop once again.

It was an entire auditorium with an empty floor surrounded by tons of weapons piled up against the walls. There were far more in supply than the ones in MonoWither's old shop. They all seemed to be made out of iron, but there weren't just swords, axes, and bows and arrows here. No, there were also spears, flails, clubs, maces, scythes; the list went on and on. On the "stage" of the auditorium were more weapons, but there were no lights there, so Seto couldn't see the rest in the back. On the opposite side of the stage were two doors.

The two men slowly entered, looking around in total shock.

"Upupupu! You like it? Hopefully you're satisfied with this reward after all your hard work!" MonoWither giggled.

Seto glared at the machine. "I should have known you'd have something this evil for us!"

"Evil? These are just weapons! You know what they say: swords don't kill people, people kill people! The weapons aren't evil!"

"With your motives, obviously there's only one evil thing you intend for us to do," Seto muttered. "Well it won't work! Since my time's almost up, no one's going to kill anyone!"

"Hmm, seems like you're a party pooper. Anywho, since you've defeated all the obstacles, the weapons room can now be accessed easily by anyone! They won't need to overcome the trials that you have! So if we were you, we'd start getting the first picks and planning some murders fast! Hey, maybe now's the best time to try it, there are no other witnesses, right-"

"Ah!" Seto hissed, clutching his stomach and wobbling on his unsteady feet.

Steven anxiously rushed to his side to support him. He looked around wildly for a moment before moving him, kicking aside a bunch of shields, and sitting him down against the wall.

"I'm fine-" Seto whispered, shaking his head as Steven offered him a piece of paper. "R-Really, I'm fine- I'm not even fainting this time-"

"Poor widdle Seto~~~..." MonoWither mocked. "First he wost his widdle blankie and now he's gonna bwake his pwomise to Tywer and die all awone with no one to wove him~~~..."

Seto didn't react as he curled into a ball and rested his head against his knees, breathing heavily.

"Oh! We almost forgot! Because you're the ones who succeeded first, we left a special surprise for you somewhere here! We think you'll like it a lot!"

_What you think we like versus what we really like are very different things..._ Seto wanted to say, but he didn't have the strength to.

"We'll leave you to it! Exit's in the elevator over there! See ya!" MonoWither disappeared.

Steven worriedly stared at Seto.

"Don't worry about me..." Seto mumbled. "Go see if there's somehow anything useful in here..."

Steven looked like he was about to object before changing his mind. He nodded and stood up before climbing up the stage, disappearing somewhere in the back.

Seto closed his eyes and tried to fight the oncoming drowsiness that was aided by his throbbing head and aching, empty stomach. No... He had to... keep going... He couldn't let Tyler down...

He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes, but his sleep was interrupted by low growling noises that made his instincts flare into attention. Seto weakly opened his eyes and looked up to see a familiar white-shirted zombie staring at him.

"...Dave...?" Seto whispered, blinking slowly. "What are you doing here?"

Dave shuffled over to him.

"Does... Steven know you're here? He'll want to see you..."

Dave was now only a few feet away. He bared his rotting teeth and growled even louder at him, raising his decaying hands.

Seto's eyes widened. "D-Dave, what are you-"

Dave snarled as he lunged at Seto, who quickly grabbed a nearby shield and blocked the zombie. Dave waved his arms wildly as he tried to slash at him with his hands and bite his face from over the top of the shield. Adrenaline was the only thing allowing Seto to continue holding the shield and Dave up and away from him.

"Dave, stop!" Seto shrieked, cowering in fear and struggling to push against the weight. "Stop, it's me, it's Seto! Stop!"

But Dave didn't seem to hear him at all. Seto's strength started to fail fast as his elbows bent more and more with each second, allowing the zombie to get closer to grabbing and biting him. "Dave, please! Stop it! Stop!" He could only strain for so much longer...

Suddenly, there was a loud _thunk_ as something struck his shield. Dave hissed as he collapsed against it, still waving his arms wildly towards Seto. A few stray specks of blood splattered against Seto's face. Before he had time to react, someone let out something akin to a chilling war cry as the zombie was pulled off Seto's shield.

Seto promptly dropped the shield and looked to see Steven kick Dave off of a spear that had impaled the zombie from behind, pinning him down with a firmly placed foot against his back. Steven screamed as he raised the spear and plunged it in Dave's skull, sending blood squirting everywhere. Dave let out one last hiss as he went limp, now completely dead.

Steven breathed heavily as he shakily let go of the spear and stepped off of Dave. Then he looked at Seto, his eyes wide with horror.

Seto stared back at him, totally stunned. "You- You you you-" He finally found his voice. "You killed him!"

Steven's expression became slightly confused.

"You killed Dave!" Seto shrieked. "I can't believe you just-" He suddenly looked down at the zombie on the floor. "...Oh... He wasn't actually Dave..."

Seto looked back at Steven and noticed that he was still shaking violently. He was clutching his arms and staring blankly into the distance with wide eyes, his face devoid of color. His clothes were stained with dark-red zombie blood, but there were also purple smears all over him.

Seto felt his stomach twist. "Was there also a fake Bart?" he whispered.

Steven's silence answered everything.

Seto had been right. MonoWither's "special surprise" couldn't have meant anything good.

"I'm so sorry... That was a really fucked up thing for MonoWither to do... But at least it wasn't actually them. Are you hurt?"

Steven shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"That's good... Well, um, if there's nothing useful in this room, then we should go. We need to clean that blood off of you, and most importantly, you need rest after everything that's happened here," Seto said, struggling to get up. Steven helped him stand, although Seto's legs were still unstable. "Shit... I don't think I can walk like this..." Seto mumbled.

Steven thought for a moment before putting Seto's arm over his neck and allowing Seto to sag exhaustedly against him.

"Thank you..." Seto said softly as the two of them started walking towards the exit.

* * *

When the elevator opened, the two found themselves standing behind everyone, who were all crowded in front of something. Seto and Steven stumbled out and the doors shut behind them. Seto glanced behind him to see what appeared to be a blank wall, but now he knew better. These digital screens were everywhere, it seemed.

"Oh my God!" Annie cried out, finally hearing them approach. The rest turned around and noticed the pair.

"Seto!" Tyler cried out.

"Steven!" Bonks cried out as well.

The two of them rushed to their side, quickly followed by everyone else.

"Why are you covered in blood?!" Bonks shrieked. "What happened?! Are you hurt?!"

Steven weakly shook his head.

"He isn't hurt... But we ran into some monsters..." Seto mumbled.

"Monsters? Where?" Jordan asked, confused.

Seto went silent for a moment before deciding that it was pointless trying to hide it. "The VIP Floor."

"What the hell were you doing there?!" Tyler shouted, horrified. "MonoWither said it was dangerous!"

"Well we made it out okay," Seto murmured. Tyler didn't look reassured at all.

"Did you find a way out of the motive?" Annie asked.

Seto grimaced. "Just weapons. A whole room full of them."

Jordan looked away bitterly. "I knew MonoWither wouldn't have anything good in there."

"But you're all right, right? You're okay?" Bonks asked desperately, trying to wipe the blood from Steven's clothes with her own hands as though they would reveal hidden wounds.

"Yes, we're okay."

"Good! Never do anything stupid and reckless like that ever again, you two! I thought I told you that, Seto!"

Seto looked around. "Um... Where are Jason and Bodil?"

"You couldn't have chosen a worse time to come back," Annie murmured darkly.

Seto looked behind the group and saw that they were on the platform overlooking the parkour course. Jason was standing close to the edge behind the fence, staring forward attentively through a pair of binoculars. And beside him... was an empty wheelchair...

Seto's face paled as he gasped. "No!" he cried out, pushing through the group towards Jason. "Bodil, where's Bodil-?!"

Seto looked in the direction Jason's binoculars were pointing at towards the parkour course.

_No... It can't be..._

He had to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him for a moment. Surely that couldn't be Bodil leaping from block to block towards the button?

"It's my fault. I should have paid more attention to him," Jason mumbled. "Last night, I insisted he sleep in my room, but he locked himself in the bathroom and slept in there. When I woke up, he was gone, so I went out to look for him. And then I went here and saw that he..." He trailed off.

"Bodil made a deal with MonoWither," Tyler finished for him. "If MonoWither let him use Potions of Strength, he would try the parkour course to get rid of the food motive only. It won't get us back our stuff, though."

"I didn't realize he had the guts to do it," Annie said wryly. "I thought he was too scared to do anything like this."

"Well... When you lose the one you love... You don't tend to care about your personal safety anymore..." Jordan said in a solemn voice.

"I'm so scared..." Bonks whispered shakily. "That pool's not going to save him if he falls..."

"But- But Bodil _is_ the SDML Traceur!" Tyler pointed out in an attempt to sound optimistic. "I'm sure everything will be okay! Out of everyone, he has the most experience with parkour!"

"You're just saying that because you can't even see what he's doing," Jason muttered.

"Well is he doing badly?"

"...No..."

"Exactly! Hehe, I'm sure he'll make it!" Tyler forced a smile.

Jason sighed. "I hope you're right..."

Seto squinted, trying to see Bodil in the distance. He could see that the man was almost at the end of the course, despite everything. Even though he was recovering from two broken legs and an injured shoulder, Bodil was able to jump and push himself off of the blocks. True, he was using Potions of Strength, but Seto knew they were only preventing his bones from breaking again. The mobility Bodil possessed was all natural. He almost looked like he was flying at some points.

"He's really getting close..." Annie said hesitantly. "Jason, how's he doing?"

"I don't want to jinx it, but I think he's doing fine- OH MY GOD!"

Seto saw Bodil wave his arms wildly as he struggled to regain his footing.

"What happened?!" Bonks demanded.

"Fucking MonoWither..." Jason cursed. "They made the remaining blocks suddenly turn invisible!"

Steven covered his mouth with his hands.

"How's he going to get across, then?!" Tyler asked.

"Hopefully he remembers where the blocks were... That, or he'll turn back..." Jordan said.

Bodil stood there for a few moments before leaping towards a spot. Given by the fact that he didn't fall, he had landed correctly. Gaining confidence, Bodil continued to jump from block to block, propelling himself forward.

"I don't believe it..." Annie said softly.

Bodil made one final leap towards the platform, which was somewhat far away from his current block. Everyone held their breaths as they watched, praying desperately.

"Go Bodil!" Bonks whispered. "You can do it!"

Bodil rolled to absorb the impact of the drop and sat there for a few moments, probably to catch his breath. Then he rose to his feet and pressed the button.

"He did it!" Jason exclaimed excitedly.

"I told you he would!" Tyler said.

Jordan sighed loudly, relieved. "You're all going to be the death of me someday..."

"When he gets back, I'm making sure he never does anything that stupid ever again," Annie said.

Steven clapped his hands together, grinning.

Seto also felt his heart swell with relief, but then a cold feeling sank into his stomach. "How's he going to get back?"

_"What an excellent question!"_ MonoWither exclaimed, appearing suddenly.

Jason glared at them. "Hey! You said that we'd get food if he pressed the button! Get him back here and feed us!"

MonoWither's smiles widened and their red eyes gleamed. "Of course, of course, it's just... Did you really think we'd give up the motive so easily?"

"Easily?! Bodil almost died!" Bonks shouted.

"A deal's a deal," Jordan said almost threateningly.

"Yeah, give us food! Seto's needs some, fast!" Tyler demanded.

"Don't worry, we'll uphold our end! It's just that we aren't fans of completely happy endings! Don't forget that this reality TV show is all about deaths!"

Annie clenched her hands into fists. "You'd better quit your bullshit or else!"

"Although we'll miss him dearly... it's time to say goodbye to another one of our friends..."

And then the platform Bodil was standing on collapsed.

There wasn't any of that "time slowed down" sensation for Seto. The moment he saw Bodil start to fall, Seto vaulted over the fence. He could hear everyone screaming behind him, hear Tyler cry out his name, but he knew what he had to do. Despite having never been able to do this before, despite having starved for three days, it was almost instinctual and second-nature.

The burning sensation in his chest quickly spread all over his body as a bright lilac aura swirled around him and he raised his purple, glowing wings. He flapped them once and nosedived towards Bodil, who was screaming in terror as he plummeted. While they were still dozens of meters in the air, Seto reached out and grabbed Bodil, spreading his wings to slow their descent.

"Seto!" Bodil cried out in shock, clinging onto him for dear life.

Seto flapped his wings again to turn around and started to glide them both back. He could make it, he could save Bodil, all he had to do was get as close to the shore as possible with what little strength he had left...

They were only a few yards away when they hit the water. Seto let go of Bodil, who kicked desperately up to the surface and coughed repeatedly. Seto tried to stay afloat as well, but his energy was spent. It wasn't like he'd known how to swim in the first place, and he had no magic left. What he really wanted to do was sleep for a very, very long time...

Seto relaxed as he sank below the surface. He could hear Bodil's muffled shouts from above, but suddenly there were countless tentacles wrapping around him. He didn't fight back as multiple squids pulled him down further into the pool's depths. From the light of the distant, glimmering surface, he could see two silhouettes swimming towards Bodil.

Seto felt like he was finally at peace. The water was pleasantly cool against his skin and everything was quiet and still. The only pain he felt was his aching chest as he held his breath and thought of his friends. But even still, some part of him didn't want to die, despite how much he tried to banish the thought from his mind.

_Tyler... I'm sorry I broke my promise.._. _I wish... I wish..._

Seto took a gulp of water and everything went dark.


	44. Plunge

Seto felt completely safe and secure where he was. A young child again, he was wearing his old white cloak with a red heart in the center and sleeping comfortably on a couch. His head rested on his father's lap as his father gently stroked his hair. In front of them, Seto could hear the low crackle of the fireplace that was keeping them warm.

 _"Seto!"_ someone shouted suddenly, forcing Seto to open his eyes.

"...Daddy...?" Seto mumbled in confusion, looking up at him.

His father smiled. "Go back to sleep, Seto."

Seto gladly snuggled further into his lap, yawning lazily.

_"Seto, wake up!"_

_"It's all in your head!"_

Seto frowned and blinked as his sleep was interrupted once again. He tried to sit up, but his father gently pushed him back down. "Go back to sleep, Seto," he repeated kindly, still stroking his hair.

_"Don't listen to it!"_

_"It's not real!"_

_"You have to listen to us!"_

Seto finally sat up, pushing away his father's arm as he tried to stop him again. He rubbed his eyes and yawned drowsily, wondering what those voices were talking about. There seemed to be two people speaking to him, but most importantly, why did they sound so familiar?

_"Seto, are you hearing us?"_

The two voices were coming from behind him. Seto weakly turned around, unprepared for what he would see.

Mitch and Ashley were standing there, still sporting the same wounds they'd had when they died.

Seto felt chills as he quickly faced forward again. No, why were _they_ here?! He didn't want to think about them, all he wanted to do was stay in this perfect little world, where he didn't have to suffer anymore.

 _"Seto, you have to help us!"_ Ashley shouted.

 _"We need your help! Everyone does!"_ Mitch begged. Their voices echoed distantly.

"...Help...?" Seto mumbled vaguely. "Why...? You're dead..."

_"Our souls are trapped!"_

_"We can't get out!"_

_"We're stuck here like everyone else!"_

_"You have to defeat the Puppetmaster to free all of us!"_

"Me...? I can't... You have to find someone else..."

 _"What do you mean you can't?"_ Mitch asked, confused.

"All I do is hurt others... I can't save anyone... I got everyone killed... Even you... It's all my fault..."

 _"That's not true!"_ Mitch cried out. _"How is it your fault?!"_

 _"We're the ones who chose to murder our own friends,"_ Ashley said.

"You don't understand..." Seto said, trailing off. He felt like a coward; he couldn't even confess his secret to dead people who were probably just figments of his imagination.

 _"We know your secret,"_ Ashley said quietly. _"It's not your fault."_

"How do you know?"

 _"We don't have time for this!"_ Mitch insisted. _"Seto, do you want to help everyone or not?!"_

"Of course I do, but..."

_"Then you have to stop the Puppetmaster!_

"I told you... I can't..." Seto felt his eyes drifting shut again.

 _"So you're not even going to try?"_ Ashley asked, scoffing. _"That's not the Seto I know."_

 _"Yeah, the Seto we know would never give up like this, even when the odds were against him!"_ Mitch declared.

 _"You didn't even know me, but you risked your life to save me back then,"_ Ashley noted.

"But I failed," Seto said painfully. "I was too late, that man had already injected you with the cancer serum and I didn't realize it-"

 _"So? It's not your fault, you still tried, didn't you?"_ Mitch asked.

 _"Plus, you saved Bodil,"_ Ashley reminded him.

"How can I beat the Puppetmaster? I don't even know who they are..."

_"We'd tell you, but..."_

_"...we can't change anyone's fate..."_

"Then how am I supposed to beat them?!"

 _"Listen, Seto, you've helped everyone get this far already,"_ Mitch said.

"And half of us are already dead... What's the point? We're never getting out of here..."

 _"All right, I'm sick of this,"_ Ashley said, glaring at Seto. _"So you want to just die peacefully, huh? You think that'll solve anything? Don't you realize that people need you? I can't believe you're being this weak!"_

Seto didn't respond.

_"Um, Ashley, I don't think you should call him-"_

_"I don't care! The longer that Puppetmaster stays alive, the weaker we all get and the worse off everyone who's still alive becomes!"_

Mitch sighed. _"That is true..."_

 _"Seto, do you really think letting yourself die is going to solve anything?"_ Ashley asked.

"I don't know. I don't care."

_"Well, that's a load of bullshit. You do care. You're just so caught up in the past, you're not thinking about the present or the future!"_

Seto's eyes widened.

 _"Hey Seto, Sky wanted to ask you this,"_ Mitch said. _"When you left the Order, why'd you continue to live? You spent, what, a whole year all by yourself. Why'd you keep going even after everything you suffered?"_

Seto paused to think. "I... I don't... know..." He let his eyes drift shut. "Leave me alone..."

 _"Like hell we are! Stop lying to yourself! You know the answer!"_ Ashley shouted.

Seto stared down at his lap. "...Because I thought... I thought I could make a new life for myself somehow... I thought I could change... I hoped... for a better future..."

 _"So why are you stopping now?!"_ they both demanded.

Seto glanced at his father, who was still smiling gently at him. He let his gaze drop as he stared at an exposed part of his father's arm, which was littered with red marks. He remembered a time, many many years ago, when he'd asked his father about them...

 _"Those are just old scars from when I was fighting a monster,"_ Henry had said, forcing a smile. _"I hope you'll never have to fight it yourself. I hope you never grow up like me..."_

Seto glanced at his own arm, which was covered in scars as well, but they were faded. "...You thought you were saving me. You really thought you were that bad of a person... You thought sending me away to the orphanage and killing yourself would be best for me, but all you did was let me get captured by the Order. You didn't protect me like you promised you would. You thought you were, but you were wrong, and now I have to deal with that same monster you lost to." Seto clenched his fists. "But I'm not going to make the same mistake you did, not again. I know better now..."

Seto rose to his feet, vaguely registering that he wasn't a child anymore, but once again an adult. He was still wearing his white cloak, however. "I'm going to look past what's already happened... I'm going to look past what I've done... and I'm going to hope for a better future again!"

He turned around, expecting to see Mitch and Ashley there, but all he saw was...

"S-Slotty?!"

Slotty giggled. "I can't believe we share the same soul, cuz you're really stupid. What's hoping for a better future going to do?! You can't win!"

Seto glared at him. "I'm still going to try, no matter what! I'm going to try for myself and everyone who needs me!"

Slotty only laughed even harder at this. Everything around Seto started fading away rapidly until all he saw was black...

* * *

When Seto opened his eyes, the first things he noticed were that he was lying on a bed, there was an IV pole to his left, and his right hand felt warm. He weakly turned his head to see that Tyler was sitting beside the bed and gently cupping his hands over Seto's, rubbing his thumb against the back of it. Tyler's eyes were closed, but they opened when Seto cleared his throat.

"Oh, Seto-! You're awake-!" Tyler exclaimed in shock, letting go of Seto's hand. Seto felt slightly disappointed. "How are you feeling, does it hurt anywhere? I didn't realize you'd wake up so soon, it's only been a few hours..."

"...I'm fine... Just tired..." Seto yawned a little. "...Where's Bodil...?"

"He's okay, he's not hurt. Well, he's back in his wheelchair, but he doesn't need a sling for his arm anymore."

"Oh... That's good..." Seto raised his left arm, which had an IV drip that was giving him some sort of potion. The bangle was still there, unfortunately. "Did MonoWither do this?"

"Yeah, they... changed their minds. After Annie and Jason got you out and Jason did CPR, MonoWither decided that it was entertaining enough, so they saved you."

"Really? They didn't just let me die?"

"Yeah, that was a... nice surprise."

"...Huh..."

Seto tried to sit up, but Tyler stopped him. "Hey, um, why don't you go back to sleep?"

Seto stared at him, for some reason having the inexplicable feeling that Tyler's face looked strange. "What? But I just woke up..."

"You need rest! You shouldn't be wasting your energy like this!"

That was when Seto realized why Tyler's face was so unusual. "...Tyler, when did you get your glasses back?"

Tyler's face paled as he flinched. "Wh-What-?!" He reached up and felt them. "Ah- I forgot to tell you-!" he said, laughing. "MonoWither also gave us back our stuff! You know, because Bodil pressed the button!"

"...I thought Bodil pressing the button would only revoke the food motive..."

"Well, MonoWither changed their minds about that too! We still have the bangles, though, but the possessions motive is gone, thankfully."

Something felt off to Seto. Very, very off. "I... see..." he said hesitantly. "So I have my cloak again?"

"Y-Yeah, it's, um, right here..." Tyler grabbed Seto's cloak, which had been folded neatly on the nightstand, and gave it to him. Seto stared at its creeper emblem, rubbing the soft fabric. He remembered the day he'd decided to burn his Ender Dragon cloak and buy a new one. He'd fallen in love with it the moment he'd seen it at the market.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

"Oh shit," Tyler cursed under his breath before the door opened it.

"Tyler, you were supposed to tell us when Seto woke up," Annie said, stepping inside. "MonoWither sounded way too passive-aggressive about it when they told us he was awake."

"I was going to!" Tyler said nervously. "He just woke up, I swear!"

Annie sighed and walked towards Seto. "Sorry you had to wake up to all this... horribleness."

Seto raised an eyebrow. "Tyler wasn't that bad."

"Wh- You're going to make jokes now?!" Annie shouted, abruptly filled with anger.

"Annie? What are you talking about?" Seto asked, startled.

Annie's eyes widened. "Oh god, don't tell me..." She turned back to Tyler. "You didn't tell him yet?!"

Tyler's face was white. "Um- I don't- um- know what you're talking about-"

Seto felt cold dread sink in. "...Tyler...? What didn't you tell me?"

Tyler laughed, wringing his hands erratically. "Oh- Nothing important-! It's nothing you need to worry about, I promise-"

"Tyler!" Annie shrieked. "You can't hide the truth from him forever! He's going to find out whether you like it or not!"

"Find out what?" Seto asked shakily, trying hard not to think about his current hypothesis.

"Nothing-! Nothing at all-!" Tyler stammered desperately. "Don't worry about it, just go back to sleep, everything will be fine-"

"He deserves to know the truth!" Annie shouted. "Tyler, are you going to tell him, or do I have to do it?"

Tyler laughed hysterically again, tears welling up in his eyes. "He- He doesn't need to know- He's been through enough- Please- Please don't..."

Annie sighed, staring down at the floor. She hesitated for a moment, choosing her words carefully.

_"Seto, I'm sorry I have to tell you this, but... when you were unconscious, MonoWither was attacked, and then..."_

* * *

Seto clutched the sleeves of his gray cloak as he stood in the greenhouse with the others, staring down at the sight before him with shock and disbelief. There were glass shards and shattered electronic devices littered everywhere below a giant hole in the sparking ceiling, which no longer gave such a convincing sky effect.

He didn't know how else to feel. He almost prayed that this was just another prank; but no, this time it was reality. A reality he once again had to wrap his mind around and accept...

If it wasn't for the iron spear impaling him through the abdomen, it would have looked like Jordan was sleeping peacefully among the flowers.

* * *

 _Why is Jordan smiling like that? He looks so happy..._ Seto thought to himself, stunned.

Jordan had talked so much about wanting to prevent another death, but in the end, he became the next victim. What kind of brutal irony was this?

It broke Seto's heart to see Jerry sitting beneath Jordan's hand, too upset to hop around like usual. Jordan's other hand, his left one, was covered in blood.

Bodil gazed at Jordan's body, sobbing quietly on his wheelchair. Ashley's ribbons were each tied around his wrists. "I thought if I did the parkour course, no one else would have to die!"

"...You said... it was a punishment by MonoWither?" Seto asked numbly. "He tried to fight them and lost?"

Annie nodded sadly. Tyler stared down at his shoes, deeply filled with regret.

"So Jordan sacrificed himself for us?"

"He must have done it because of you," Bonks whispered. "MonoWither said that he wouldn't save you unless someone else died first."

Seto felt his heart skip a beat. "You can't be serious..." He looked around. "Where's Steven?"

"Steven apparently found the body first, poor guy," Jason murmured. "He fled to his room and wouldn't come out. I don't blame him, but I do worry about his sanity at this point..."

 _"Boo hoo, who cares?"_ MonoWither asked, appearing suddenly. "We've got to get ready for the big event!"

"Big event?" Annie asked suspiciously. "What big event?"

"Why, isn't it the same old routine? After a death comes a trial!"

"What's the point? You're the one who killed him!" Jason shouted.

"Yeah, we didn't need one for Seth!" Bonks pointed out angrily.

"Well you didn't see us kill Jordan, so there's still enough 'mystery' for a trial. We wouldn't want to break tradition, now, would we? Anyway, as always, here's the MonoWither File #4!"

Seto caught the tablet that was thrown at him. Was it already the fourth File? Seto couldn't wrap his mind around it...

"Well, Seto? Aren't you going to say something?" MonoWither asked sweetly.

"Like what?" Seto asked in a low voice, barely concealing his rage.

"Oh, we don't know, a _thank you_ for saving your life, perhaps?"

"You killed my friend," Seto continued through clenched teeth. "You murdered him in cold blood... Why would I thank you?"

"Hey hey, save those accusations for the trial! And besides, breaking the rules results in a punishment, and all of you knew it! This isn't the first time we've had to react to someone attacking us! Anyway, investigation time starts now, so we'll leave you to it!" With that, MonoWither disappeared.

"What's the point of this?" Bodil asked, whimpering.

"Nothing, it's just that MonoWither's fucked-up, what else is new?" Jason replied with exasperation.

"Why did this have to happen again?" Bonks whispered.

"I don't know, but we just have to push through this trial," Seto murmured. "We have no choice."

"What is there to even investigate?" Annie asked, sighing. "Can't we just grieve in peace?"

"I get the feeling that MonoWither will make us provide proof that they killed him..." Seto replied.

"God, I hope not," Jason muttered. "But that does sound like something they'd do. Fuck."

"Don't worry, just... leave everything to me this time," Seto murmured. None of them looked like they were in any condition to investigate, and he couldn't blame them.

Seto turned on the tablet and swiped through to see Jordan's silhouette, which showed a bloody spot on his abdomen where the spear was.

 _"The victim is Jordan, the Super Duper_ _Minecrafter_ _Level Songwriter. He died at approximately 9:47 am and was impaled through the abdomen by a spear. His body was seen at this time as well. All other visible injuries were sustained after death."_

Seto lowered the tablet, lost in thought. He didn't see anything useful with what the File had written, so he put it on the ground.

He didn't really know why he was investigating. The answer seemed rather straightforward, but... for some reason, Seto needed to uncover the explanation himself, or else his mind would never accept what had just happened. Was he sure that he wasn't just having a bad dream?

Next, Seto knelt down by the body. The spear was clearly one he had seen from the weapons room and, judging by the blood on the end protruding from Jordan's abdomen, it had almost impaled him completely. It was far, far more gruesome than anyone (much less Jordan) deserved.

He looked around, observing the shattered remains of some sort of computer-like device and glass. Then he raised his head and peered through the massive hole in the ceiling.

If his hypothesis was correct, then...

Seto stood up and brushed the dirt off of him before leaving the greenhouse. As he walked back to the rooms, however, he heard someone following him and turned around to see Tyler.

Tyler shied away, fiddling with his hands. "...I'm... I'm sorry, Seto, I..." he began before trailing off.

"It's okay," Seto murmured in reply.

Tyler hung his head in shame. "It was stupid, I know. I should have just told you the truth from the start..."

"You didn't cause any lasting harm," Seto said. "It's in the past now."

"Thanks..." Tyler cleared his throat. "So... where are you going?"

"I'm going to the VIP Floor," Seto replied.

"Wh-What? Again?!" Tyler stammered. "Why?! Are you trying to get killed?!"

"No, MonoWither took out all the obstacles once Steven and I made it to the end. I just need to investigate there." Seto began walking to the elevator again.

"If that's the case... If you aren't mad at me, can I... come with you...?" Tyler asked hesitantly.

"If you want," Seto replied, pressing the button to open it. "Considering your Forbidden Action, you probably should."

The two entered the elevator together, glad that in this dark time, they at least had each other...

* * *

"So what was so dangerous about the VIP Floor?" Tyler asked, looking around the first room.

"I'm not sure you'd want to know," Seto said quietly, the memories all too fresh in his mind.

"No one died though, so it couldn't have been that bad... right...?"

Seto grimaced. "I didn't do a very good job of keeping that promise, that's for certain."

Tyler sighed. "Well... Bonks told me you tried..."

Seto scoffed a little.

"At least you don't have to worry about starving anymore, so... I'll forgive you..." Tyler murmured. "I really am curious about this place."

"If you really want to know, Steven and I were gassed in the first room. The gas was hallucinogenic, so we both saw some fucked-up stuff relating to our worst fears and memories."

Tyler's face paled and he shuddered. "That's horrible!"

"I was lucky; Steven woke me up before the worst of it. He had to go through his nightmare for hours." Seto briefly wondered how Steven had not totally snapped by now.

They entered the second room, which only had the table now.

"Here, we had to play Russian Roulette..." Seto said grimly.

"You _what?!_ " Tyler shrieked. "Russian Roulette?!"

"We survived, didn't we? Well, I was the one who played the game. Really, there was only a one-eighth chance of dying-"

" _Only?!_ "

Seto swallowed, his mouth going dry as he remembered the feeling of the cold metal barrel pressed against his head. "I lived, so it doesn't matter."

Judging by the pallid look on Tyler's face, he wasn't very reassured.

They both approached the hallway, which was a lot shorter than Seto remembered. Perhaps not being chased by falling walls had something to do with it.

"Steven helped get me through this one," Seto said, taking the lead in the narrow hallway. Experimentally, he tried to summon his magic and succeeded in producing a ball of light (albeit a tiny one). "There were silverfish above us being controlled by MonoWither. They made the walls come down behind us, so we had to run for our lives to avoid getting crushed."

Tyler unintentionally made a soft, whimpering noise in the back of his throat.

"Fortunately, that was the last one," Seto concluded. "So up next is the weapons room- _Oh god-!_ "

Seto stopped in his tracks, causing Tyler to bump into him. "Ow, what the- _EEK!_ " Tyler screamed.

The window overlooking the greenhouse was completely shattered; all that was left were bits of glass remaining near the edge of the platform. Crimson stains were near the edge, from which there was a trail of bloody footprints. This trail led to two lines that ran from the middle of the room to the weapons room door. There was more blood covering the door and the floor around it.

Seto hesitantly stepped forward, making sure to avoid the blood.

"Wh-What the hell happened here?!" Tyler cried out, covering his nose and cringing. Seto slightly envied Tyler for not being used to the pungent scent.

"This must be where Jordan was struck by the spear," Seto replied, pointing at the door. He moved his finger along the trail to the left. "The force of the spear must have dragged his body across the floor before he regained his footing... Then the spear hit the window and he fell..."

Tyler inched cautiously towards the edge, peering down. "There's the greenhouse..." he said to himself, backing away. "Oh... That's why there was the hole in the ceiling..."

Seto nodded. "The glass is from the window that used to be here and the electrical stuff is from the digital screens that make up the greenhouse ceiling. But... there's just one thing that doesn't make sense to me..."

"What's that?"

Seto frowned, staring at the blood, before shaking his head. "No, it's probably nothing..."

"So, that's the weapons room?" Tyler asked, pointing at the door.

"Yeah, it is. I don't know if MonoWither would let us in or not, though-"

 _"Ask and ye shall receive!"_ MonoWither whooped, appearing before them. "Hello you two, you're the only ones actually taking this investigation seriously!"

"Well when we already know the answer, what's the point?" Tyler muttered.

"Hmm, but we wonder what this says about Seto. Don't tell us... do you really enjoy examining murder scenes? Do you get a certain high off of the scent of blood-"

"Are you going to open the door or not?" Seto asked through clenched teeth.

"Okay, okay, geez..." The doors slid open. "There's really nothing special, though!"

Seto stepped over the bloodstains and entered the weapons room, which was total chaos. Most of the weapons were strewn about on the floor, which also had several burn marks. Lying in several places were five MonoWither machines, all of which had broken heads. Many of the broken, exposed wires were sparking.

"We can't believe we lost five spares to that meddling, stupid, insubordinate-!" MonoWither trembled with rage before going still. "Whatever, we still won in the end, so that's good! We have _way_ more spares left anyway!"

"Just go away," Seto muttered, closing his eyes tightly.

"Oh, right, you're focused on the investigation! Our apologies!" MonoWither said in a hushed voice before they disappeared, giggling like mischievous children.

"Seto?" Tyler asked hesitantly. "When will MonoWither end the show? They can't let this go on forever... If there's too little people-"

"...I don't know," Seto replied. "Now's not the time to be worrying about that."

Tyler stared down dejectedly. "Every time I think there's a chance of peace, there's always something that sends us back down..." His voice started to hitch as tears welled up in his eyes. "All my life, I've told myself that bad things never last forever... But now, I can't help but wonder if I was wrong... What if... what if despair is all that's left for us? Everything feels so pointless..." Tyler looked away, struggling and failing to compose himself.

Seto didn't exactly know what he was doing when he stepped towards him so that they were inches apart. "Tyler, you weren't wrong before," he murmured softly, reaching for his hand and cupping it gently.

Tyler stared at their hands with wide eyes. "How can you say that? You almost died..."

"But I didn't."

"So many of our friends, over half of us now, they all died... What if we're next?"

"You can't think like that. Think about what Jordan did for us."

"But he died too. He took down five spares, but he still died..."

Seto shook his head. "He knew the consequences. He basically sacrificed himself for us, and we can't forget that. This time, it wasn't a murder that killed him."

"I don't want to be here any longer..." Tyler was on the verge of sobs. "I'm so scared... scared for everyone and myself... Why are we going through this? Did we do something to deserve this? Why can't we be free of this place? Why can't things just go back to normal?"

"It's not fair," Seto admitted, closing his eyes thoughtfully. "This world, it's a cruel, cruel place, and I"ve known that since I was a child. My father died when I was seven and I was adopted soon afterward by my uncle, who didn't even deserve to be called a human. He practically made me his slave. Those six years I spent with him... those were the worst years of my life. Every single day felt like hell. There was barely anything good, I don't know why I kept going. Even after I was free, I spent a whole year by myself, without anyone to talk to."

Tyler stared at him, too stunned to say a word.

"But then, when I was 14, I finally made my very first friend. And from him, I met you and all the others. And for the first time in a long time, things finally seemed to look up..." Seto smiled slightly at the memory before it faded. "And then we ended up here." Seto laughed bitterly, sniffling a little. "Isn't it messed up? I finally had friends after those six years of hell and in two weeks I lost almost all of them in this horrible place..."

"Seto..." Tyler whispered softly, tears streaming down his face.

"I forgot for awhile, but now I remember why I kept going," Seto continued. "Back then, even though those six years never left me, I kept looking forward to the future. Because for every horrible thing that happens, there will always be something that makes everything worthwhile, even for a little bit... We'll never know what the future has in store for us, but we have to look forward and hope for something good..."

 _"Investigation time is over!"_ MonoWither announced over the speakers. "Now then, please head over to the resort lobby!"

Seto slowly let go of Tyler's hand. "We should get going," he murmured, heading towards the exit.

"...Seto?" Tyler asked faintly, wiping his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"...Thank you for telling me about this... I know it must have been hard to talk about... your uncle..."

Seto nodded a little. "If... If I get the courage... I'll tell you all about it someday..."

"You'd trust me with that?" Tyler asked in disbelief.

Seto met his eyes, surprised by how certain he felt. "After all we've been through together... I think I do."

* * *

When they reached the lobby, everyone was sitting on the couch except for Bodil (for obvious reasons) and Steven.

"Where were you guys?" Annie asked. Seto half-expected to hear suspicion in her voice, but surprisingly there was none.

"The VIP Floor," Tyler replied.

"The hell were you doing up there?" Jason asked. "Isn't it dangerous?"

Seto shook his head. "No, MonoWither removed the obstacles after Steven and I made it through."

"Speaking of Steven, where is he?" Bodil asked. Seto realized that Jerry was sitting on his lap, drooping sadly.

"He heard the announcement, right?" Bonks asked. "Maybe I should go to his room and make sure."

"He did find Jordan's body first without warning," Annie reminded her.

"Yeah..." Bonks murmured. "He doesn't deserve all this pain... No one does... And Jordan shouldn't have died..."

"I still can't believe Jordan's gone, it's unbelievable," Jason said, crossing his arms over his chest. "But all the signs that he was going to do something were there, and I didn't notice..."

"None of us did," Bodil said gloomily, patting Jerry in an attempt to comfort the grieving slime. "Poor Jordan, I hope he's in a better place now..."

For some reason, Seto thought of Mitch and Ashley in his dream. "I'm sure he is," he said quietly, ignoring the thought. "I'm sure he's happy, now that he's with Seth again..."

_Maybe that's why he was smiling when he died..._

Just then, they heard three sets of footsteps approach the lobby. They all looked to see...

 _"Steven!"_ Bonks cried out in horror, rushing over to him.

Steven walked rather unsteadily into the lobby, accompanied by Bart and Dave. Although the two mobs looked relatively unscathed, Steven was covered in bruises, as though he had been beaten up.

"What happened to you?!" Tyler demanded.

"I'm fine," Steven said softly, clutching his hands to his chest. "I'll explain during the trial."

Seto noticed the way Bart and Dave looked at each other at that statement.

 _"Well, well, looks like everybody's finally here!"_ MonoWither exclaimed cheerfully. "Part 04's taken longer to finish than we expected! Let's get this over with, shall we?"

"You can say that again," Annie muttered spitefully.

"Follow us!" MonoWither flew over to the lobby's "entrance" where, in a normal hotel, there would be doors leading outside. A scanner on the wall flashed green as MonoWither hovered in front of it. The wall shimmered before two doors appeared before them, which slid open to reveal an elevator much like the one in the old place. "Get inside, quick!"

Everyone filed inside and the doors closed before the elevator made its descent. Seto cringed at how much larger the elevator felt now that their numbers had dwindled so low. But soon, he reminded himself, they would at least be returning with the same number of people.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. This time, the trial room was covered in triangular Nether Quartz blocks, strangely reminding Seto of skeleton bones. "All right everyone, we've done this before!" MonoWither announced. "Find your designated trial stand and don't waste any more time!"

Seto found his spot and saw that Jordan's portrait wasn't exactly crossed out, but it had a large red quarter rest symbol in front of his grayed face. Ashley's portrait was crossed out with two red needles.

"Ahem! We are here to discuss the murder of Jordan, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Songwriter. It's time for our Super Duper Minecrafter participants to solve this mystery and find the culprit/culprits of this heinous crime! If they choose correctly, the blackened alone will be punished. But if they choose incorrectly, then they will all be punished, the blackened will be free to leave, and the show will end!"

"What if the blackened is you?" Jason asked, glaring at them.

MonoWither giggled. "Well, nothing will happen. You can't execute the show's hosts!"

"Then our vote is already decided," Annie declared.

"We all agree that MonoWither killed Jordan?" Tyler asked.

Everyone nodded and murmured in assent, all except for one person.

"...What if it wasn't just a punishment from MonoWither?"

They all turned to face Steven, who was clutching the podium stand and hunched over with trembling legs.

"What did you just say?" Jason asked, his face paling.

Steven gulped but pressed forward. "...What if someone else was the one fighting MonoWither?"

Bart and Dave, both strangely disturbed, moved as though to silence him, but Steven shook them off. "No, stop it guys!" Steven shouted. "I have to tell them!"

"Tell us what?" Annie asked, although the faintness of her voice indicated that she already understood. "What, Steven?!"

"What if- What if someone tried to attack MonoWither with a spear?" Steven continued, wringing his sweaty hands. "What if- What if they threw the spear at them?"

"Stop- Stop it!" Bodil shrieked. "Don't say any more!"

"What if Jordan just happened to be standing in the way of the spear?"

"What are you talking about?!" Tyler cried out, shutting his eyes tightly.

"What if MonoWither managed to move away, and then..." Steven took a deep, shuddering breath. "...What if the spear hit the wrong target?"

Steven stole a glance upwards, briefly meeting Seto's gaze, before looking away.

"...What if that person wanted to sacrifice themselves, but ended up becoming a killer by accident?"

"S-Steven?" Bonks whispered, horrified anguish twisting her expression.

Steven looked at Bonks sadly before turning to Seto once more. "Who... Who do you think is the killer now...?"

Seto felt like someone had punched him in the gut, knocked all the wind out of him, and twisted all his insides until they were tangled knots. His mind raced, desperately searching for some alternative answer to Steven's questions...

_The_ _true murderer in this case is... Steven?_


	45. Treading on Thin Ice

"Steven, it was... you...?" Seto asked, staring at the shamefaced man with wide, disbelieving eyes. "You're... the killer?"

Steven didn't reply. He simply closed his eyes. Dave slowly moved forward and bowed his head in resignation, burying his face in Steven's right shoulder and embracing Steven's arm. Bart gently placed a hand on Steven's left shoulder, staring down at him wordlessly.

"No- No that can't- That can't be right!" Tyler shouted. "It was Jordan, he attacked MonoWither and got killed, and Steven had nothing to do with it! Right, Steven?"

Steven remained silent.

"I swear if MonoWither made you say that as a sick joke or something..." Annie threatened in a trembling voice.

Silence.

"Steven, say something! Say something!!!" Bonks shrieked wildly. "Please!!!"

"...I'm sorry..." Steven whispered, staring at his hands.

His answer took everyone aback.

"S-Sorry? Why- Why are you apologizing?" Tyler asked, horrified. "What are you sorry for?"

Steven shut his eyes and took several deep breaths. "I... was actually the one who attacked MonoWither... But Jordan, he... ended up in the crossfire..." His face twisted in remorse. "I... I killed him... I'm sorry..."

"...Why... Why would you just admit it like that?" Bodil whispered in disbelief.

"...I didn't want things to end this way..." Steven murmured softly. "I... I didn't mean to let this happen... I didn't mean to become the killer, I was the one who was supposed to end up dead... I can't sacrifice the rest of you for something that was my fault..."

"O-Okay, maybe we're just overreacting!" Jason said, struggling not to panic. "Just because you, um, threw the spear, that doesn't mean you're guilty! I mean, you were aiming for MonoWither... In no way does that make you the murderer!"

"Exactly!" Annie cried out. "That's exactly it! I- I know you feel guilty, but the truth is that it wasn't your fault!"

Steven shook his head. "MonoWither said that I counted as the killer... even though it was an accident..."

"Well they're a bunch of  _liars_!!!" Bonks howled, suddenly bursting into tears. "You're not the killer, Steven!!!  _YOU'RE NOT THE KILLER!!!_ "

"...I wish that was true, but... MonoWither is the one who makes the rules..." Steven said quietly.

"Who- Who cares about that?!" Bonks shrieked. "Who gives a damn about what that sadistic machine has to say?! It's not your fault!!!" Her eyes widened in realization. "I bet that MonoWither lied! They want us to believe you did it so that we'll all vote incorrectly!"

"N-No, Bonks, please don't make this harder than it needs to be-  **I was the one**  who threw the spear..."

**> >>\--IMPALEMENT--> ((I WAS THE ONE))**

"Wait- Wait a minute!" Seto cried out. "You're not telling the truth, Steven."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked.

"You're telling us that you somehow threw the spear with enough force that it actually  _impaled_ Jordan to such a severe degree?! That's impossible! The spear almost went through his body completely! The blood on the spear's shaft indicates that!"

"You're right!" Tyler exclaimed, stunned. "It would have taken a superhuman to do that!"

"It's more likely that MonoWither was the one who shot the spear," Seto continued, nodding in agreement. "Don't you think so?"

Steven glanced away, unable to argue against that statement.

"Why would you lie at a time like this?" Seto asked in disbelief. "You know that if we vote incorrectly, we'll die..."

"...That's... That's exactly why I lied..." Steven murmured.

"You wanted us to die?!" Annie thundered.

"No! The complete opposite, I swear!" Steven insisted. "You- You wouldn't believe me otherwise!"

"What do you mean?" Jason asked. "Explain!"

Steven took a deep breath. "I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?!" Bodil cried out.

"I- I just  _can't_! I can't explain! Just trust me and vote for me as the killer!"

"We can't do that, not without an explanation!" Tyler argued.

"I refuse to believe you killed Jordan!!!" Bonks shrieked hysterically.

"Please, I'm begging you to trust me! Don't you trust me? I- I know I might seem suspicious but-"

"It's not that I don't trust  _you_ , it's that I don't trust your judgment at the moment," Annie murmured softly.

"Exactly, there's no way we could just vote for you without any evidence..." Jason said quietly.

Steven stared down at the floor with defeat. "...Seto?" he asked softly.

Seto felt his whole body tense up as though it was bracing for an attack. "Yeah?"

"I'm... I'm sorry it has to be this way, but... could you help me?"

"H-Help you?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't explain to you guys how I killed Jordan. You might see why later, but... Right now I need your help."

"...Why me?"

"Because I know you can do it, Seto. You're the one who's helped us get this far..."

Seto bit his lip and looked away. "What are you trying to say?"

"I know you must be sick of these trials, so I'm sorry for asking you this, but there's no other option. Please... Can you figure out how I killed Jordan?"

Seto felt his stomach twist. "You- You can't just ask me to do something like that-! That could get you killed-!"

"Please," Steven whispered. "It's for your sake and everyone else's. I'll try to help in any way I can, but I just can't be the one to explain it. I'd ask Bart and Dave to explain, but... I think everyone would believe it if it came from you rather than us. Just please, can you do this one last thing for me?"

Seto shut his eyes tightly and bowed his head over the podium.

"Let's just vote for Jordan!" Bonks pleaded. "Seto, you know Jordan's the real answer! It's not Steven! He's just in denial!"

"S-Survivor's guilt  _is_  a thing..." Annie said quietly.

"Steven, I understand how you feel, but it wasn't your fault," Jason murmured.

"Y-Yeah! It's not, we promise you!" Bodil reassured.

"MonoWither was the killer since they were the ones who threw the spear," Tyler reasoned.

"So we should just end this right now!" Bonks said desperately. "Seto, say we should vote for Jordan!"

Seto couldn't speak. He almost couldn't breathe. This couldn't be happening... Why was he the one who had to make this decision?

"Seto, please," Steven repeated, forcing a bittersweet smile.

Seto slowly raised his head and exhaled, carefully making a decision.

"...Okay," he whispered finally. "I'll help you."

"What?!" Jason exclaimed.

"S-Seto!" Annie cried out indignantly.

"What are you doing?!" Bodil shrieked.

"Why would you believe he's the murderer?!" Bonks demanded. "I thought he was your friend!"

"I'm doing this  _because_  he's my friend!" Seto shouted back. "Steven asked me to do this for him. It's the very least I could do!"

"If- If it turns out that Steven is innocent, then we'll just vote for Jordan, right?" Tyler hesitantly reasoned with the group.

"...I guess you're right. We can either lose our time or our lives..." Annie muttered. Jason and Bodil nodded reluctantly as well.

"...Bonks?" Steven asked tentatively.

Bonks pursed her lips and refused to meet his eyes.

"I... I'm sorry, I know you didn't want any more murder trials. I know you didn't want to question any of us anymore. I'm sorry... I'm sorry I couldn't... make such a simple thing happen for you..."

"...It's not your fault," Bonks whispered, finally relenting.

"Can you give me a clue to start us off?" Seto asked.

Steven swallowed. "Um... I'm not sure what's safe for me to say... Maybe you should start with figuring out what led up to Jordan's death..."

"I'm going to need everyone else's help for that," Seto replied.

"While you were...  _unconscious_..." Jason began hesitantly. "We all started panicking..."

"So what were you all doing?"

Tyler shuddered at the memory. "I was looking after you..."

"I was with Bonks, trying to figure out what to do," Annie said.

"I took a walk around the lobby with Bodil," Jason said.

"And what about Steven and Jordan?" Seto asked.

"I think I can answer that partially," Steven said. "I went to the VIP Floor to confront MonoWither. The fight is what led to Jordan being killed."

"And why did Jordan go up there if he supposedly wasn't the one fighting MonoWither?" Jason asked suspiciously.

"...I don't know myself..." Steven replied. "I'm just as confused as you are..."

Annie's eyes widened. "Hold on. In the chaos of what was happening with Seto, I didn't think much of it, but I overheard you two having a discussion..."

Steven's eyes lit up in a strange mixture of triumph and sadness.

"What did you hear?" Bodil asked curiously.

"It was hard to hear, even for me, but it was while Bonks and I were still talking. We were right outside the door leading to the parkour course, so that's where Jordan and Steven were. This was how it went..."

* * *

_"Hey Steven, where are you going?"_

_"..."_

_"I- I know you don't want to talk to anyone, but you shouldn't isolate yourself, especially at a time like this. We all need to stick together."_

_"...Jordan...?"_

_"Oh! Y-You said something for once!"_

_"...Do you trust me...?"_

_"Why are you asking me that?"_

_"Do you trust me?"_

_"Well... Of course..."_

_"...Whatever you do, don't go to the VIP Floor..."_

_"_ _I wouldn't even think of getting those weapons, don't worry about that."_

_"...So you won't go?"_

_"_ _Of course not."_

_"...Promise?"_

_"Um, yeah, I promise... You're kind of confusing me right now, but I promise I won't go there. H-Hey_ _, where are you going?"_

_"I'm just going to the greenhouse, I need to be by_ _myself_ _..."_

* * *

"Did you really say that?!" Bonks demanded, turning to Steven.

He stared sadly at the floor. "...Yes..."

"But why?" Tyler asked. "You apparently went to the VIP Floor, not the greenhouse. Why would you lie like that?"

"...Because I didn't want  _this_ to happen..."

"Well despite what Steven told him, it seems like Jordan went to the VIP Floor anyway. I wonder why?" Jason asked.

" _Something_  compelled him to break the promise..." Annie murmured thoughtfully.

"I thought that after last time, Jordan would be more careful!" Bodil lamented. "If Steven warned him, why would he go anyway?!"

Seto mentally agreed. Jordan was usually level-headed and unwilling to rush into danger, unless...

...

...unless  _someone else_  was in danger...

"Steven, do you think Jordan would have thought you were in danger somehow?" Seto asked.

Steven frowned. "N-No, I don't think so. Besides, I didn't tell him I going to the VIP Floor-" He gasped suddenly, his eyes widening as his face paled. "Oh no..." he whispered, covering his mouth with his hands.

"What happened?" Bonks asked.

Steven glanced at Bart and Dave. "I... I... I wrote a suicide note beforehand with the paper I had left because I didn't want you guys thinking I was murdered or something... I left it in my room, but it's not like our rooms have locks..."

"Are you saying that Jordan went in and found it somehow?" Annie asked.

"That must be it, but I don't know  _why_ he'd go in my room!" Steven said.

"Then maybe he didn't see it, maybe it's another reason?" Bodil suggested tentatively.

"M-Maybe, but... if I remember correctly, I put the note on the bed, but when I went back, it was on the floor... I thought it must have just fallen when I left or something, but now I'm not so sure..."

Seto frowned as he looked up at MonoWither suspiciously. MonoWither was grinning devilishly as usual, but he had a feeling there was a reason why...

"MonoWither, you showed Jordan the note, didn't you?" Seto asked.

MonoWither put on shocked faces. "Our word! How could you ever accuse us of such a heinous act! Showing Jordan Steven's suicide note before he'd even committed the deed? That's- That's-!"

"-exactly what you did," Seto interrupted. "You must have shown Jordan the note somehow. You knew he'd want to stop Steven from sacrificing himself, you knew Jordan would put himself in harm's way by going into the VIP Floor."

"That's horrible!" Bonks cried out.

"But nothing special for MonoWither..." Jason muttered.

"Hey hey, shouldn't we be innocent before proven guilty? How can you prove that's what we did?! You  **can't prove**  that Jordan even saw that note!"

**> >>\--NOTE'S-CONTENTS--> ((CAN'T PROVE))**

"Steven, do you still have the note?" Seto asked.

"Y-Yeah, I do..." Steven said, reaching into his pocket. He paused for a moment before pulling out a piece of paper. Steven walked over to Seto and placed the note in his hands, but Seto almost flinched when he felt a cold piece of metal touch his palm. Steven stared into his eyes as he calmly closed Seto's hands around the object, which felt like one of the room keys. Seto stared at him with bewilderment, countless questions threatening to overwhelm him, but he kept silent. Steven nodded, his eyes filled with some sort of resolve and determination, before letting go and returning to Bart and Dave. "Go ahead, read it."

Seto blinked for a moment before realizing that whatever Steven had given him, it wasn't meant to be seen. He cleared his throat for a moment before reading the note, making sure the key wasn't visible to the others (especially MonoWither).

_Dear everyone,_

_If you're reading this, that means that I've lost my fight against MonoWither. I'm sorry it had to be this_ _way._ _I knew that the chances of me winning were close to none,_ _but when I saw the weapons in the VIP Floor, I knew_ _I had to at least try to save everyone. I don't know what MonoWither's done after my death, but I hope that this note is proof that this was a punishment._

_To Bart and Dave, I hope you can forgive me for breaking the promise we made. But I had to do it to free you_ ,  _my friends who've always been there for me._

_Please don't give up, I know you can all survive somehow._

_-Steven_

The solemn tone was ruined by MonoWither sniffling loudly. "Oooh, oooh!!! So sad!!! What a tragedy!!!" they wailed in a falsetto voice.

"Shut up!" Jason shouted.

"Well MonoWither? What more proof do you need?" Seto asked, glaring at them. "Steven mentioned going to the VIP Floor to sacrifice himself, and it's no coincidence that Jordan went there as well. He read the note somehow, and the most likely cause of that is because you showed it to him; he would have no other reason to randomly go into Steven's room and see the note."

"Fine, fine! We'll confess!" MonoWither snapped. "But this is how all reality TV shows get their juicy bits! So much content is set up so that the ignorant masses can eat up all the drama! Think of it from the hosts' perspective! This is all show business!"

"Yeah, uh, 'show business' is not justification for manipulation and murder at all..." Tyler muttered.

"Whatever, anyway so what if we showed it to him? You should be grateful; we tried to stop Steven from getting killed!"

"No, you did it on purpose so that Jordan would get killed," Seto murmured darkly. "I see it now, that's how it happened..."

"Wh-What? MonoWither killed Jordan on purpose?!" Bodil stammered. "I thought it was just an accident-! Like Jordan got in the way or-"

"When Steven and I reached the weapons room, the door was locked. MonoWither had to unlock the door for us using their special authorization. So MonoWither must have opened the door for Jordan after waiting for a certain moment..."

"What moment would that be?" Bonks asked.

"The moment MonoWither was able to aim the spear at the door, of course," Seto answered. "Most of you didn't go to the VIP Floor, but when you get to the weapons room, its entrance is right across from a huge window that overlooks the greenhouse. When Jordan reached the weapons room, MonoWither positioned the spear and fired it towards the door right as it opened."

"But how do you know that's what happened?" Annie asked.

"When Tyler and I investigated the VIP Floor, we saw the place where Jordan was hit by the spear," Seto replied.

"Yeah, he must have crashed through the window and fallen into the greenhouse..." Tyler murmured.

"That explains the hole in the ceiling," Jason admitted.

"And all the broken stuff around the body..." Bodil said hesitantly.

"But doesn't that prove that MonoWither was the one who killed Jordan, not Steven?" Bodil asked.

"No no, I did it!" Steven stammered.

"No, you  _didn't_!" Bonks cried out. " **Jordan fought**  MonoWither, he must have!"

**> >>\--BLOODSTAINS--> ((JORDAN FOUGHT))**

"But Bonks... there's evidence that Jordan didn't enter the weapons room," Seto said hesitantly. "There were bloodstains on the floor in front of the window, but none of the blood was inside the weapons room. If Jordan really was the one who fought MonoWither, then he would have been struck with the spear inside of the weapons room, right?"

"Maybe the fight ended up outside of the room," Annie murmured. "Not very likely, but still a possibility."

"But why is Steven the one covered in bruises and not Jordan?" Jason asked.

"That's another reason why the one who fought MonoWither must have been Steven, not Jordan," Seto replied. "Do you all agree?"

"Yeah, it makes the most sense," Bodil said quietly.

"But even still, that doesn't make Steven the killer!" Bonks shouted. "After all, we proved that MonoWither shot Jordan with the spear! So how is Steven the killer?!"

"...I can't answer that either..." Seto admitted, turning to Steven. "I'm sorry Steven, I don't have a clue how you're the murderer and not MonoWither."

"Maybe it's like what Annie said. Survivor's guilt!" Tyler said, giggling nervously. "There's no way Steven did it..."

"Steven? What's the truth?" Annie asked.

Steven's eyes were shut tightly, a dark shadow crossing his face. "I have to tell them..." he murmured to Bart and Dave. Dave shook his head and tapped against Steven's arm in protest, but Bart stopped him. "No Dave, I have to... it's the only way they'll vote for me and live... If Seto couldn't find anything to prove I did it otherwise, then this is the only way."

"What's the only way?" Bodil shrieked.

"I can't tell you outright, but..." Steven hesitated for a moment before continuing. "...but I can lead you to it."

"How?" Jason asked.

"Seto, what do you think killed Jordan?" Steven asked.

"Th-The spear, right?" Seto stammered, taken aback. "I mean, that's the obvious answer, what else would kill him?"

"...Well... What if his Forbidden Action was activated somehow?" Steven murmured.

"Eek! His Forbidden Action?!" Bodil squeaked.

"But how do we find out what it is?!" Jason asked.

"Damn it," Seto cursed, "I didn't think it would be important. How could I have been so stupid?"

Tyler spoke up. "Well Jordan's body is still there, probably, maybe we could go back and check-"

"UH UH, NOPE!" MonoWither yelled from their throne. "Too late, investigation time is already over!"

"We don't need that, I already checked what it was myself," Annie said softly.

"Great! What is it then?!" Jason asked.

Annie gazed at Steven with wide eyes. "Steven... If what you say is true, then..."

Steven looked away.

"What is it?" Bonks asked nervously.

"It's 'Witnessing violence instigated by a spy,'" Steven said suddenly.

Everyone stared at him, stunned.

"How in the world did you know that?!" Tyler exclaimed.

"I can't say," Steven murmured.

"Annie, was he right?" Seto asked.

Annie hesitated as she continued to stare at Steven in disbelief. "...Yes. Word for word, that was it..." she said softly.

"I guess you all can figure out what this means..." Steven said, trailing off.

A sickening realization sank into Seto's gut. No... This couldn't be...

"Hey Steven, I don't know what kind of stupid joke you're playing, but it's really not funny!" Jason cried out.

"Clearly MonoWither's spear killed Jordan!" Bonks shrieked. "Seto, say I'm right!"

"The MonoWither File never gave a cause or location of death..." Seto whispered.

"Because it's too obvious!" Bodil shouted. "No- No need to say what the obvious answer is, right?!"

"The body was also discovered at the same time Jordan died... discovered by Steven..." Seto continued slowly, all the pieces coming together in all the wrong ways.

"Shut up!" Bonks cried out. "You're lying!"

"Bonks, please," Steven said. "I'm telling you that the Forbidden Action killed Jordan!"

"Wouldn't the spear have killed him before the Forbidden Action?!" Jason asked.

"Or the fall!" Bodil pointed out.

Seto shook his head. "The spear impaled his abdomen. It would have been fatal, but not immediate. Certainly not faster than the poison in the bangles, which take effect in seconds. Jordan also did not fall immediately, judging by the amount of blood near the broken window and the blood on his hand from gripping the spear. He must have fallen only when he lost consciousness. Plus, the MonoWither File said that all other visible injuries besides the spear were obtained after death. Those are the injuries from the fall. The mention of visible injuries means there could have been internal injuries from the poison..."

"But that means Steven's a spy!!!" Bonks shrieked.

Silence filled the courtroom.

"If Steven is a spy, then he's the one who instigated the violence," Tyler said slowly, still in disbelief.

Seto nodded. "And that's why MonoWither lured Jordan to the weapons room and waited for the proper moment to open the doors so that Jordan could witness the fight... The spear was probably to confuse us and lead us to where we are now..."

"No no no, does this mean... Steven, did you plan this murder with MonoWither?" Annie asked in a hushed voice.

The dark look had returned to Steven's face, but this time it looked more sinister.   

"That can't be right!" Bodil wailed.

 _"So what if I did?"_ Steven asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

Bart and Dave gave him horrified looks.

"No! I don't believe you!" Bonks shouted. "Why would you warn Jordan not to go to the VIP Floor if you wanted him to all along?"

"Reverse psychology, perhaps... Wouldn't that have further raised his suspicions when he saw the suicide note?" Steven asked. "Jordan didn't want another death. He would have done anything to stop one from happening, especially a suicide..."

"But you can't be a spy!" Bonks insisted.

"This isn't a confession, but why would I carry out this plan if I didn't know his Forbidden Action? Unrelated, but the spies know everyone's Forbidden Actions..."

More horrified silence.

"So you really are a spy..." Annie said, glaring at him. "All this time, you  _lied_ to us?! You worked for MonoWither against us?!"

"I cannot admit," Steven murmured again.

"But you basically led us to that conclusion," Seto said faintly. He couldn't believe this was happening. "Why, Steven...?"

Suddenly, Steven's smile widened as he grinned crookedly. His eyes widened until they were like saucers.

"S-Steven?" Bonks cried out in shock.

He laughed a little, ignoring Bonks. "Why? Because I've been waiting for so long to see your reactions... I just couldn't hold back any longer..."

"Then aren't you just letting yourself get killed?!" Seto asked in bewilderment. "This doesn't make sense! If you're really a spy, why would you do this?!"

"It's all part of MonoWither's plan. I just went along with it like the loyal servant I am!"

"Then why won't you just straight-up confess you're a spy?!" Annie spat out.

"Isn't it more despairing this way? How even though all your suspicions lead to my betrayal, the suspect who led you there won't confess?"

Bart and Dave grabbed his arms and shook him desperately, seemingly trying to get him to stop, but Steven only giggled. "Such despair..."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Jason demanded. "This joke isn't funny!"

"It's obviously the low oxygen in this room!" Bodil claimed wildly. "You know, being underground for this long must have made him dizzy! That's why he thinks he's a spy!"

"Oh Bodil... I know your Forbidden Action!" Steven taunted. "Poor Bodil was so nervous around everyone because his was 'Being in physical contact with a spy'!"

Bodil looked like he'd been slapped in the face. "H-How did you-?"

"And Jason, you kept wanting to push Bodil's wheelchair because yours was 'Running away from a spy'! Clever way to hide it! At least I gave you and Annie Ender Pearls so you could reach Bodil and Seto faster!"

Jason's face paled as his whole body flinched. "Oh my god..."

Steven laughed again, his whole face covered in sweat. "Oh, the  _despair_  on your faces! I... I love it! It's so... beautiful!!! It's so much better than I imagined!"

"Shut up!" Annie screamed, raising her fists at him. "Shut up right now or I'll make you,  _traitor!!!_ "

"I killed Jordan out of my own free will, I will... proudly confess that!!!" Steven shrieked hysterically. "I- I enjoyed seeing the despair on his face as he- he realized he'd been betrayed!!!"

"I fucking warned you," Annie hissed as she started to storm over to him.

"STOP IT!!!" Bonks cried out, bursting into heartbroken sobs.

Steven's eyes widened and his grin disappeared.

Bonks gasped shakily as her anguished cries shook her whole body. "S-Steven... Why...? Why would you lie like this... Why would you pretend to be this evil...? Why do you want us to vote for you so badly...?!"

Steven's unsettling expression returned, but it looked less convincing. "Bonks..." he said slowly. "I'm not lying... It... really does makes me happy... to see you..." He swallowed. "To... see you in... despair..."

"Steven, you are a terrible actor," Tyler said suddenly.

"Wh-What?!"

"I'm not saying this because I'm in denial. You really just aren't fooling me with your performance. I used to act in B-list horror movies before, I've seen terrible auditions for deranged serial killers too many times to not recognize one."

Bonks continued to cry loudly, unable to stop. Steven stared at her for a moment before looking away regretfully.

"That  _was_  an act, right?" Jason asked, still horrified.

"Y-Yeah-! You don't really like all that despair stuff!" Bodil exclaimed.

"Steven, please just be honest..." Seto begged. "Telling all these lies won't help anyone..."

"I'm sorry, everyone," Steven whispered, lowering his head in shame. "I didn't mean any of that, I just wanted to make sure you all voted correctly..."

"So are you a spy or not?!" Annie demanded.

"...I still can't say," Steven replied. "But don't worry, Annie. Vote for me, and your Forbidden Action most likely won't activate."

Annie's eyes widened in shock.

"He must be one," Seto concluded. "He knows too many of our Forbidden Actions and instigated the violence that killed Jordan. But I don't think he really meant to hurt us. Perhaps MonoWither tricked him into killing Jordan, and now Steven's doing everything he can to get us to vote for him because it's the right choice..."

Steven looked up at him, relieved.

"To make sure I'm correct, I'll try to sum up everything about this case..."

* * *

"Last night, Steven decided to enter the VIP Floor for the second time. However, before he got there, Jordan saw him and asked where he was going. Steven warned him not to go to the VIP Floor before leaving. With what Steven had planned, he wanted Jordan to be as far away from the VIP Floor as possible.

"Unfortunately, MonoWither saw this and decided to trick Jordan into going there. Steven had written a suicide note beforehand and left it in his room, but MonoWither showed it to Jordan somehow. Jordan, believing that he could stop Steven, headed to the VIP Floor. Since Steven and I had already overcome the obstacles necessary to unlock its contents, Jordan quickly made his way through.

"Meanwhile, Steven entered the room containing the VIP Floor's secret weapons and challenged MonoWither to a fight to the death, probably betting that MonoWither had a limited number of spares. The fight resulted in five spares breaking and also left Steven bruised. However, when Jordan got there, MonoWither carried out their plan and kept the door closed until they were able to aim one of their spears at the doors. They opened them so that the spear would impale Jordan directly through the abdomen.

"The force of the spear sent Jordan reeling backward and shattered the glass barrier behind him. As he fell down the long distance, he collided with the digital screens that made up the ceiling of the greenhouse. Thus, there were broken remains of these digital screens and glass all around his body.

"However, in the end, this was only a way to conceal the true cause of death: Jordan's bangle, which activated because his Forbidden Action was "Witnessing violence instigated by a spy." Since Steven was one of the spies and instigated the violence, Jordan's Forbidden Action was triggered and killed him in a matter of seconds. Being impaled by a spear would have taken him a longer period of time to die. The blood on his left hand and the bloodied footprints on the platform also indicate that it took some time for Jordan to grip the spear that impaled him and stagger backward before he broke the glass barrier and stepped off the platform; thus, the poison must have taken effect before he hit the ground.

"Even though it was unintentional and extremely hard to accept, there is no denying that Steven is one of the spies MonoWither referred to. Not only did Steven confess to starting the fight that triggered Jordan's Forbidden Action, but he also gave other indications that he was a spy previously. For instance, the most telling piece of evidence is that Steven warned Jordan not to enter the VIP Floor because he knew his Forbidden Action. One could argue that he simply did not want Jordan to follow him, but he would have told the others if this were merely the case. Similarly, when Bodil and I were in the water, Steven gave Jason an Ender Pearl from the Enderman he killed previously because he knew Jason's Forbidden Action: Running away from a spy.

"This is the true explanation of Jordan's death. Despite how unbelievable it sounds, Steven is one of the spies MonoWither mentioned. Because of this fact, he accidentally activated Jordan's Forbidden Action, poisoning him to death. Therefore, the murderer... no, the one who  _caused_ Jordan's death... is none other than Steven...

* * *

As usual, silence hung in the air after Seto's concluding statement.

"...Do you believe me now...?" Steven asked hesitantly. "I  _think_  Seto got most of it right..."

"No!" Bonks shouted, slamming her hands down on the podium railing and digging her claws into the wood. "No, I don't believe it! I never will! There's no way you can be a spy!"

Steven gazed at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Bonks..."

"You're not the one who should be sorry!" Bonks turned to face Seto, angry and bitter tears streaming down her face as she glared at him. Seto had never seen such a tragic mixture of fury and heartbreak in one expression before. It hurt him to see Bonks of all people like this...

"How could you?! How could you ever believe Steven is a spy! Steven would never hurt us! You saw how he helped us all! He helped you get through the VIP Floor, he wanted to save Jordan, he's cared so much about everyone this whole time!!! Steven's always been kind and caring and sensitive and- and- and there's no way he would  _ever_  willingly spy for someone as terrible as whoever controls MonoWither!!!" 

Seto watched as she breathed heavily through clenched teeth, continuing to glare at him. She was in such strong, desperate denial... Seto cringed and looked away. He didn't want to, but he had to. He had to make her listen to reason. He had to make her understand the truth, no matter how much it would hurt her. All of their lives were at stake...

"So? Can't argue now, huh?" Bonks asked spitefully. "I knew it, you're wrong! You're just making stuff up!"

"No, I'm not," Seto replied. "There's too much evidence. Jordan must have died from the bangle, and because of his Forbidden Action, the killer must be a spy. Steven has displayed knowledge of Jordan's, Bodil's, Jason's, and Annie's Forbidden Actions: a characteristic of the spies according to MonoWither."

"Are you using MonoWither's word to- to get Steven killed?! How can you be so cruel, Seto?! Isn't Steven your friend?!"

"As I said before, I'm doing this  _because_  he's my friend! Steven asked me to do this for him!!!"

"If he's really your friend, then why would you accuse him of being a spy?! Explain to me how someone like Steven could ever help MonoWither over us willingly!!! Explain how he could be something as- as  _evil_ as MonoWither's spy!!! Explain!!!" Bonks' voice was so loud and shrill, it practically deafened everyone's ears. 

Seto went silent.

"Explain... because I  _refuse_ to believe it..."

"I don't know," Seto mumbled finally. "I don't have a single clue myself. Steven... as MonoWither's spy... It's impossible for me to understand. But I have to believe it."

"Why?! Because all of the 'evidence' points to it?! Because you 'think' so?! I can't believe you! Do you hate Steven that much?!"

"No, it's because I have to  _trust_ Steven!!!"

Everyone stared at him in shock, even Steven himself.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to think of Steven as MonoWither's spy. The idea will always be unbelievable to me. He's saved my life so many times, he's been so kind this whole time... But I do know that Steven is my friend, and he wants us to live. He wants us to believe in him. That's why we have to trust in what he's said! We have to believe he's a spy! He's all but confessed to everything for a reason!"

Something flashed in Bonks' eyes. "Keyword, Seto: 'But'. He never once directly confessed to being a spy. Therefore, your argument doesn't work!!! Steven  **isn't a spy**!!!"

**> >>\--KNOWLEDGE-OF-FORBIDDEN-ACTIONS--> ((ISN'T A SPY))**

"Bonks... I'm sure you tried to hide your Forbidden Action well."

Bonks flinched and instinctively covered her bangle with her hand. "Wh-What does that have to do with anything?!"

"It's the most telling piece of evidence, in my opinion. Unfortunately, I think because of your Forbidden Action's cruel nature, it's made you act strangely around me and made this trial all the more complicated."

"Shut up!!!" Bonks shrieked. "My Forbidden Action is completely unrelated!!! Stop bringing up outside information!!!"

"Seto, why do you know her Forbidden Action?" Annie asked suspiciously.

"I don't, specifically," Seto murmured. "But I can guess what it is based on her actions."

"No- No you can't!!!" Bonks wailed. "Stop it!!!"

"All right, just listen to me. So that this trial can end, I'll just come out and say it right now. I know you've had a lot of suspicions about me... So I might as well just confess."

Tyler's face went a little green. "Erm- Seto?"

"Oh my god-" Jason whispered, his face paling.

"This isn't happening!!!" Bodil squealed.

"Seto- Seto stop it right now-!!!" Bonks pleaded desperately.

"Seto... Do you know what you're doing?" Steven asked nervously.

Seto nodded and took a deep breath. "It pains me to confess, but I... I really am a-"

"STOP!!!" Bonks shrieked, clamping her hands over her ears and crouching on the floor like she was about to be shot.

"Bonks, what's wrong?" Annie asked, bewildered.

Bonks whimpered as she trembled in absolute fear and apprehension.

"I knew it," Seto murmured, closing his eyes. "I first suspected it when Annie started accusing me in the beginning..."

* * *

_Annie glared at Seto, who felt his stomach twist_ _nauseously_ _._

_"So? There's no use trying to deny it. I'm sick of doubting the people around me, I need a clear answer! Just confess already!"_

_"No!" Bonks cried out suddenly, her voice filled with such panic that it startled everyone._

_"Bonks?" Jason asked in confusion. "What's wrong?"_

_"I- I mean- what if Seto_  can't  _confess!" Bonks stammered wildly. "If MonoWither's forcing him to do this, then he might get in huge trouble if he gets found out!"_

* * *

"And that's not the last time. No, when I talked to you yesterday morning, you were also very nervous when I said that I had something to tell you. You looked like you wanted to run away at some point."

Bonks didn't say a word.

"It's okay, I'm not going to confess. I could, but..." Seto frowned as he stared at his bangle. If he 'confessed' and Bonks didn't die, would that be an explicit denial? He wasn't going to risk it.

"Don't tell me that  _confessing_ is your Forbidden Action, Seto," Annie said skeptically.

"No, it's not. I believe it's the complete opposite, in fact."

Tyler's eyes widened. "Wait, wh-"

"Anyway... the final piece of evidence is the fact that Steven couldn't outright explain why he was the killer. With that, I think it's clear. Bonks, your Forbidden Action is 'Hearing a spy confess to being one.' Isn't it?"

Bonks stood up slowly, her hands shaking as she clutched them tightly, her dilated pupils staring blankly ahead.

"Bonks, is this really true?" Jason asked in disbelief.

She didn't answer, but everyone knew. This was the ultimate proof, proof that not only had Steven killed Jordan, but he was also a spy of all things...

How did they get here?

Despite everything, Steven smiled wistfully.

_"Thank you, Seto. I knew you could do it."_


	46. The Final Mob Encounter

MonoWither looked like every holiday in the world had come early for them as they spun around excitedly. "Well then, we guess it's finally time for the ending of the fourth Show Trial! Wow, we're just pumping through these, huh? Anyway, please use the lever in front of you and cast your vote! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?!"

Steven bowed his head. "You know what to do... After everything you've uncovered... I think the answer is clear..."

"N-No!" Bonks cried out. "No! I- I refuse to believe you're the spy! You- You must have seen my Forbidden Action somehow- That's the reason, there's no way you're... you're..." Bonks' voice trailed off to a hoarse whisper, tears welling up in her eyes as they trickled down her face.

Steven gazed at her sadly, not saying a word.

Everyone looked around, hoping that somehow  _something_ would happen and they wouldn't have to vote.

Steven forced a smile. "H-Hey, this isn't like the other times, right? This time... This time the killer's actually asking you to trust him and vote for him... So you don't have to feel so bad..."

Dave hugged him even tighter and Bart looked... heartbroken.

"Steven..." Tyler whispered, too stunned to say another word.

"You  _know_ that's not why we feel so bad," Jason muttered.

"Why- Why did this have to happen?!" Bodil wailed.

Annie looked away, staying silent.

"I'm sorry..." Steven murmured softly. "I know you probably have so many questions, but... what's most important right now is that you vote for the right person. In fact, I'll be the first one to do that..." Without hesitation, Steven moved the lever and cast his vote. "S-See? S-Simple... Easy as pie... Now you try it..."

Seto stared down at the screen on the podium stand, biting his wobbling lip. The names, so many grayed-out at this point, blurred together. He swallowed through the pain in his throat and forced himself to grip the lever. Somehow, he managed to find Steven's name...

For the fourth time, the golden slot machine rose up in the center. The three slots spun wildly, and Seto noticed that now Ashley and Jordan's pixelated faces were black and white. Finally, the slots came to a halt and stopped on Steven's image. Confetti burst from the machine as the words "GUILTY" flashed on top of the machine.

"Ding ding ding! Once again, our lucky participants have voted for the correct killer! But that's to be expected at this point, now is it? They have so much experience! Anyway, congratulations everyone! Yes, Steven was the spy who killed Jordan! What a shocker! At least the good thing is that you caught him!" MonoWither exclaimed.

"That's  _not_ a good thing!" Bodil shrieked.

"I still can't believe it..." Tyler whispered. "So Steven really is a spy?"

"I- I want an explanation!" Annie demanded. "You can't lead us to that conclusion without ever providing a reason why!"

Steven shook his head. "Trust me, you don't want to know the truth. I still can't confirm anything."

"You- You weren't doing this willingly, right?" Jason pleaded. "MonoWither must have forced you-"

MonoWither cackled. "That's where you're wrong, we've been over this already! We never forced Steven to be a spy, he and his meddling monster friends took that job upon themselves! And that's a truth, we swear it on our dead family's corpses!"

"I can't believe that!" Bodil shouted.

"Yeah, if Steven was working for you willingly, he wouldn't have- he wouldn't have sacrificed himself like this!" Tyler said.

"What kind of spy working for MonoWither would do so much just to help us get through this trial, even if it meant sending him to... to his execution...?" Seto asked.

"Yes, that's why MonoWither must be lying!" Annie argued. Seto couldn't help but find himself agreeing.

"N-No... No, they aren't..." Steven stammered.

"What?!" Bonks exclaimed.

Steven's eyes widened. "I- I mean- um- I can't tell you anything! I can't confirm or deny anything because you can't know for sure if I'm a spy or not!"

Bonks stared down at the bangle on her wrist, appearing as though she wanted nothing more than to tear it from her body, punishment be damned, as long as she was able to get a proper explanation for everything...

Steven composed himself. "That doesn't matter now. You've voted correctly, and I'm glad you trusted me enough to do that... So thank you, everyone..." He stepped forward and reached for Bonks' hands, cupping them gently. He and Bonks stared at each other for a few moments before he smiled at her and let go.

"MonoWither... It's time for the execution now, isn't it?" Steven asked. "You and I both know that's what you want, so you might as well just get it over with. I'm ready for whatever you have planned..."

"Hmm, you're  _right_ but... Isn't it so boring that so far all of our executions have only involved  _one_  individual?"

Steven's eyes widened in horror. "What are you-?!"

"Oh, but there's no way we can let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity pass! Yes, this is the perfect chance for a  _three-for-one_ special!!! So don't worry Steven, your two monster friends will be joining you!"

Steven's face paled. "No! You can't! You can't do that! They're innocent, they didn't murder anyone!"

"Well they aren't participants anyway, so we can do whatever we want with them without breaking the rules! Besides, you didn't really have a Forbidden Action, but you knew from what your bangle said that if you killed yourself, your monster friends would die! How is this any different from killing yourself, huh?"

"No no no- It said  _directly_  killing yourself- MonoWither, you can't do this,  _please_ -!"

Bart and Dave took hold of his arms, each tapping on his skin.

Steven shook his head. "No, I can't let this happen, you did nothing wrong!"

Bart tapped something.

"Wh-What do you mean you don't mind?"

Next it was Dave who said something.

Steven stared at him in shock. "The promise?"

Bart nodded as he said something as well.

"I- I don't care if we all swore to it, that was a long, long time ago and things were different, I don't want you two to d-!"

"Well it's not your choice, now, is it?" MonoWither asked, grinning. "Oh poor Steven, your mistake led to the deaths of your dearest friends, isn't that just tragic?"

Steven shut his eyes tightly and breathed deeply as Bart and Dave drew closer. Finally, he looked up and smiled shakily, wiping away his tears. "Huh... I guess... I guess that means we all get to keep that promise we made... all those years ago..."

The two mobs nodded in assent.

MonoWither frowned. "Heeey, what's this 'promise' you guys keep talking about?! Don't leave us in suspense!"

"That's none of your business," Steven murmured.

"Hmmph! Well if you're not gonna spill, we guess we're just gonna have to start the punishment!"

Steven gazed defiantly at MonoWither as he linked arms with Bart and Dave.

"Fine, play the silent treatment, we see how it is! Anyway, it's finally time for the fourth execution! We've prepared a very special punishment for the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Mob Observer and his two monster friends!"

A door swung open, revealing a hallway entrance that was still blocked by a gate.

Sudden chills filled the room, as though the temperature had suddenly plummeted. Cold reality struck. Hard. Once again, all they could do was watch as not only Steven, but also his loyal friends Bart and Dave, get sent off to their doom. The three of them calmly walked together towards the gate.

"I'm... I'm gonna miss you, Steven..." Bonks whispered, barely keeping it together.

She was far from the only person who was teary-eyed; everyone was outright weeping. Even Seto could feel his eyes prickling as tears streamed down his face. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, how come Steven seemed so calm about this?! It wasn't like Mitch or Ashley, who had been resigned to their despairing fate. No, Steven, Bart, and Dave seemed determined, hopeful even.

Said three turned around to face them. "I'll miss you too, Bonks..." Steven's eyes widened in realization as he stared at everyone's faces. "Oh no, no no no, please don't cry over someone like me, I mean... you're all certain I'm one of the spies, right?" Steven asked. "I... I betrayed you... in your eyes... I'm on the side of despair... I've been working against you..."

"Still!" Jason retorted in a choked voice.

"You'll always be our friend, no matter what!" Tyler declared.

"You even gave yourself up to help us!!!" Bonks said.

Steven laughed a little, choking up. "Well... I'm so glad we got to meet you all and be friends, even though I wish I could have helped you guys get out of here... I'm sorry all I did in the end was make so much trouble for everyone... I wish... I wish I could have..." He trailed off.

"Stop it..." Annie mumbled, shaking her head tearfully. "Stop apologizing, you're not making any sense... I don't understand why you're doing this... Why are you so focused on how we feel...?"

"No matter what MonoWither says, I still think you're on our side!" Bodil said.

"You'll always be one of us, spy or not..." Seto murmured.

"...Thank you, everyone..." Steven replied, moved to tears as he laughed again. "...You're all too kind... Even after concluding that I was a spy this whole time, you're all still so nice to me... Please keep being this nice to each other after this... You have to work together..."

"Quit it with the sappiness! We're tired of this getting drawn out, let's get the ball rolling already!" With this, MonoWither slammed a wooden gavel on the red button. The gate swung open.

Steven, Bart, and Dave waved. "I hope you all get out of here somehow... I know you will, just trust me..." Steven said, a hopeful smile on his lips. "You've all made it this far, right? Just keep going no matter what, don't give up... Believe in us, believe in your friends, and believe in yourself... You'll make it through, I promise..."

"Let's give it everything we got, it's punishment time!!!" MonoWither shouted.

_"...Goodbye everyone... Thank you for everything..."_

The three of them waved one last time before they turned around. Still holding hands, their shadows loomed backward into the courtroom as they walked down the hallway to their fate.

* * *

**Execution Music:<http://youtube.com/watch?v=sj-j69XHxik>**

**SHOW'S OVER: STEVEN HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY. TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!**

**_(YOU TOO,_ _BART_ _AND_ _DAVE_ _!)_ **

The three of them were standing together on a flat, snowy field. Steven was in the middle, with Dave to his right and Bart to his left. For a few seconds, everything was silent. Peaceful, even. It was just the three of them standing together and nothing else...

The ground rumbled as an arena emerged from the dirt, surrounding the three as they instinctively clasped their hands together, grasping them like a desperate lifeline. Their eyes slowly looked upwards as the barrier towered high above them.

Finally, the arena came to a halt and the lights flashed on, making them cringe. They blinked rapidly, adjusting to the light, before looking back. When they did, they saw a large MonoGhast hovering above them.

**The Final Level**

Steven and Bart prepared to run away when Dave tightened his grip on Steven, shaking his head. They paused as they immediately listened to Dave, staying put even when the MonoGhast cried out and launched a fire blast in their direction. It hit the ground several feet to their right, and Steven gulped when he saw the snow blocks plunge into boiling lava.

Still, they remained standing and refused to move or let go of each other. Dave had a calculating expression as he waited for something to happen.

The MonoGhast continued to launch more fire blasts at them, some getting dangerously close. Steven and Bart shut their eyes tightly with each ground-shaking blow, fighting the instinctive urge to run for their lives.

Suddenly Dave looked behind him, trying to find something. Bart followed his eyes and saw a gate at the top of the arena slide open to reveal a Nether Portal. He braced himself for a moment before teleporting all three of them to the Portal, which they ran through only to find themselves standing in an auditorium overlooking countless rows of seats.

**The Final Encore**

Bart pulled Steven forward, who in turn pulled Dave forward, as he jumped off the stage and sprinted up the stairs through the aisle. They heard the sound of something powering up right before a huge gush of water flooded the room at top speed from behind them. They could also hear the scuttling of Endermites across the floor as they hungrily chased them. To make matters worse, dozens upon dozens of music sheets blew in their faces, slowing them down.

Bart and Dave used their free arms to shield their eyes while all Steven could do was shut his eyes tightly and blindly keep running forward, both he and Dave trusting in Bart to guide the way.

Struggling to outrun the rapidly approaching flood and onslaught of Endermites while shielding his eyes and dragging Steven and Dave behind him, Bart almost didn't notice the two large creepers blocking the exit. They hissed as they flashed white, preparing to explode. Bart scrambled to teleport the three of them a few feet behind the creepers, but it wasn't far enough.

The creepers exploded, blasting them several yards forward through a long, completely stone hallway. Bart, Steven, and Dave all crashed into a barrier and slid to the floor. Steven propped himself up on one arm, the other raised as he clutched his bleeding nose, gasping for breath as he stared at the transparent barrier in front of him. Mockingly, just behind it was what appeared to be the exit: a flush, green meadow under a bright, blue sky.

Making sure his friends were okay, Steven turned to face Bart to his left and saw that he was barely able to move, depleted of all energy after having teleported all three of them twice and having been forced to run. He turned to the right and saw Dave lying limply on the ground, his back singed from the creeper explosion.

Suddenly the ground shook as rhythmic booming sounds filled the air. Steven looked at the reflection in the barrier and saw the stone walls plummeting down and hitting the ground, one by one, behind them. He could hear the sound of bloodthirsty silverfish scuttling above them.

**Slamacow's Final Silverfish Smash**

This was the end of the line, that much was certain. There was no escaping this. They were doomed to be brutally crushed under the stone walls that were quickly approaching them.

Yet despite knowing this, Steven shakily wiped the blood from his nose and rose to his feet. He offered his hands to his friends, who both grasped them tightly and stood up.

They stared forward, standing in resolute unison, despite knowing this was the end.

They were clearly afraid but never looked back, despite knowing this was the end.

They would stay together and never let go, despite knowing this was the end.

As the last layer right behind them crashed down, they shut their eyes tightly and drew closer, Bart and Dave reaching across Steven to hold their remaining hands. They shook as they braced themselves, waiting for the end, but for some reason the final blow never came.

Why wasn't anything happening?

Suddenly they heard a low growling sound and opened their eyes to see that the image, which was actually part of a digital screen, had changed so that the meadow was underneath a starry night sky.

**The Final Mob Encounter**

An Ender Dragon with massive black wings rose in the distance, crying out, before soaring in their direction. Its purple eyes flashed as it opened its fanged mouth, the back of its throat ablaze with readied ender charges, roaring fearsomely as it swooped down at high speed towards the digital screen.

Seto watched as Steven, Bart, and Dave shut their eyes again right before the camera footage cut back to the auditorium, where they all saw and heard the huge, fiery explosion that concluded the three friends' final moments.

* * *

There was silence, save for Bonks' anguished weeping, before all of their bangles snapped apart and slid off their wrists, clattering to the floor.

Seto glanced at the spot where Steven, Bart, and Dave had been standing just a few minutes ago. Now all that was left was Dave's gaming device, which was lying on the ground for some reason. Without thinking, Seto went over to the device and picked it up, staring at it for a few moments, before placing it in his pocket.

"Upupupu! You did it! You beat the minigame and caught one of the spies!" MonoWither exclaimed ecstatically. "Gosh, how ironic, he died staring at one of his own animations for a certain song's music video... Well, you know what they say! Animating takes over your whole life, literally! Gahaha!!! Finally, they're dead! And it was like a 4-D experience, too!"

"...Why... Why do you sound so happy about it?" Tyler whispered in disbelief.

"Since when were we  _not_ happy about your successful trials?"

"But Steven was one of your spies, wasn't he? Do you enjoy killing people so much that you don't even care about your own helpers?" Annie asked, glaring daggers at them.

"Hmm, we don't seem to understand what you mean..." MonoWither murmured after a moment. "Aren't you glad that you managed to escape death? After all,  _your_  Forbidden Action was 'Failing to correctly identify a spy with clear evidence before Part 04 ends'..."

Annie looked away. "...It's just not right..."

"I haven't the faintest clue why Steven, Bart, and Dave would even help someone like you. You lied, you really did force them to spy for you, didn't you?!" Bonks shrieked through her tears. "You blackmailed him or something! And that's why you're happy about the fact that he's dead!"

MonoWither burst into peals of laughter. "All right, all right! We'll confess! You're all just too much, we can't believe you all fell for it so easily!"

"Fell for what?" Jason asked, confused.

MonoWither giggled. "It worked so well! So, so well-"

"Just spit it out now!" Seto shouted.

MonoWither cleared their throats before tilting their heads curiously.  _ **"When did we ever say that both of the spies worked for us?"**_

There was a horrified silence.

"...What?" Bodil whispered, his eyes widening.

"You- You did lie to us!!!" Annie cried out.

"How did we?" MonoWither asked. "We didn't say any lies!"

"Yes you did!" Jason insisted. "You must have!"

MonoWither cackled. "Remember what we said? All we said was this..."

_"The oh-so-despairing truth that we've been dying to reveal as a shocking plot twist! Okay then, here goes! Two participants among you... are actually dirty_ _**spies** _ _!"_

_"What do you mean by that? Spies?" Jordan asked dubiously._

_"Yes, two among you are actually filthy, sneaky spies hiding things from everyone else!"_

_"You- You mean they're working for you?!" Annie exclaimed, her green eyes widening in horror._

_"_ _Upupupu_ _! We guess you could say that... They may have even played a role in putting you all in here, you never know!"_

"We never ever  _specifically_ stated that the spies were for us! You assumed all that yourselves!" MonoWither declared. "Suspicious, paranoid little buggers you are! Can't even give your own friends the benefit of the doubt before going off on a witch hunt! All humans are the same, honestly..."

"Then- Then how was Steven a spy?" Tyler demanded.

"Upupupu... You see, we believe in the philosophy of yin and yang. Where there is darkness, there is always light. Where there is evil, there is always good. And when there is despair..."

_**"...there is always hope."** _

"Just get to the damn point and stop beating around the bush!" Annie shouted.

"One spy, who you still haven't caught, is the spy for  _ **despair**_ _._ And the other spy, who has been caught and executed as he deserves, was the spy... for  _hope_!"

"So- So Steven was the spy for hope?" Jason asked. "What does that mean?"

"Well who else do you think managed to contact Hope Organization and alert them to your whereabouts?" MonoWither retorted.

Chills raced up and down everyone's spines.

"You mean... Steven was the one who..." Tyler whispered, trailing off.

"N-No!" Bodil shrieked. "No, this can't be true!"

"Ahahahahaha!!! Yes indeed, it is! You all accused him of working for us, when in reality he was always on your side! You executed the one person who was trying to help you! The one person who was able to contact Hope Organization! How painfully ironic!"

"Hold on a second, why'd you tell me about the 'Three Despairs'?" Seto demanded. "You can't tell me Steven's one of these three if he was the spy for hope."

"Hey, well, we never agreed with you when you suggested the three included both of the spies... After all, you don't need to be a spy to help contribute to despair! So we guess besides yours truly and the remaining spy, you still have one Despair whose role in this whole thing you haven't figured out! But too bad, you all thought Steven was one of them!"

"Steven couldn't even correct us..." Annie whispered softly.

"He knew that he'd activate Bonks' Forbidden Action if he said anything..." Jason murmured.

Bonks whimpered, looking ready to pass out. "So- So he died knowing we thought he was working for you?"

"Indeed! He died with the painful knowledge that none of you trusted him anymore! That's a betrayal if we've ever heard one, and we've definitely experienced our fair share of betrayals! Honestly, maybe all of you have gotten this far without directly murdering any of your friends, but that doesn't mean you don't have blood on your hands either! In fact, we dare say that the only reason why all of you have survived for so long is because you all mastered the art of backstabbing betrayal! All of you have voted for your friends to get executed! Sure, they're the ones who betrayed you first, and it's your life versus theirs, but we know what you really think. You're secretly glad that you survived while they didn't..."

All of the participants flinched guiltily.

MonoWither giggled as the screens turned on again. This time, they started to show a recording of the weapons room.

* * *

Steven was kneeling on the ground, bruised and battered, and panting heavily. MonoWither hovered before him and raised a spear.

"So? Are you gonna give up?"

"N-No..." Steven gasped for breath. "I'm still... going to try... for everyone..."

"You're not even that good of a spy, you know that, right?"

Steven gritted his teeth. "I know... I guess I really am one of the spies you mentioned..."

"Hah! You know you can't tell them the truth if you die! How does it feel, knowing that if they find out who the spies are, your friends will see you as an enemy after all you've done for them!"

"That doesn't matter... I don't care about that... All I care about is standing up to you!" Steven shakily rose to his feet. "As long as I can... I'll keep fighting!"

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. Steven looked behind him. "Wh-What-?"

"Watch out!" MonoWither cackled, launching the spear at Steven, who dived out of the way.

That was when the doors slid open and there were the sounds of metal penetrating flesh, a pained scream, and shattering glass.

Steven pushed himself with great effort and looked up to see the horrific sight.

"...Jordan...?"

Jordan was standing on the edge of the platform, clutching the spear that had impaled him, coughing up crimson blood. He looked down at his left arm and stared at the bangle that was flashing red words on its surface.

_WITNESSING VIOLENCE INSTIGATED BY A SPY._

Jordan looked forward, his eyes fixating on Steven with confusion.

"No..." Steven whispered, his face paling with shock and horror.

Jordan continued to cough as his irises went glassy. A bloodied smile formed slowly on his lips as he laughed a little, gazing up with half-lidded eyes at something that no one else could see. His satisfied expression sent chills racing up and down Seto's spine; Seto had never seen Jordan look more blissful than here in his final moments.

 _"S... Seth..."_  he whispered happily, raising his arm as though to touch something in the air, before his eyes rolled back in his head and he started to lean backward.

Steven finally mustered the strength to get up and run towards him. "JORDAN,  _NO!!!_ " he screamed, reaching out to grab him, but he was too late.

All he could do was watch as Jordan's corpse plummeted down...

* * *

The screens flickered off.

"What was it that Steven said? 'I wish I could have done more to help you'? What an utter tragedy; in the end, he couldn't even rescue a single person... He notified Hope Organization to no avail! All Steven managed to accomplish was kill Jordan and he got killed himself as a result! Plus, you could even argue that all the deaths of the Hope Organization members during the rescue attempt and the Special Episode were because of him... Therefore he, Bart, and Dave completely failed their mission and created even more despair than ever! We guess if you really wanted to, you could say that he really was working for us in the end, now, couldn't you? Wow, they sure died for nothing!"

 _"No, that's wrong!"_ Seto shouted.

Everyone turned to stare at him, stunned by his sudden outburst.

"Oooh, what are you going to say  _now_ , Seto?" MonoWither taunted.

"Don't you dare say they died for nothing!" Seto snapped back.

"Let us guess, you're gonna say something like 'they wouldn't want us to lose hope like this' or-"

"Steven sacrificed himself for us," Seto began. "He could have just kept silent if he wanted to, he would have lived, but he still tried to tell us the truth without triggering Bonks' Forbidden Action. It was a sacrifice for our sake!"

"You say that, but have you forgotten that he still  _killed_ Jordan! Jordan was an innocent character in all of this! While trying to challenge us, Steven ended up killing his friend by accident! That's a despair-filled fact!"

"Jordan knew the risk," Seto murmured. "He believed that Steven was trying to commit suicide in the VIP Floor. He must have known that if Steven was the spy, he ran the risk of triggering his Forbidden Action. But he took that risk anyway to save one of his friends!"

"What kind of argument is that?! Jordan failed! He only led to Steven becoming his murderer! If he had just listened to Steven, only Steven would have perished! But nooo, Jordan had to play the hero!"

Seto glared. "But  _you_ were the one who tricked him, weren't you?  _You_  gave him Steven's suicide note.  _You_  made it so that the spear would hit Jordan at the right moment. The despair wasn't caused by Jordan or Steven, no one intended to murder anyone. This time it was all you,  _only_  you!"

MonoWither bared their metal fangs. "You-! You stupid little-!"

"Can't argue against that, huh?!" Tyler asked, grinning.

"Shut up-!" MonoWither snapped. "Have you forgotten what we've done?!"

"Of course we haven't!" Annie shouted. "Which is why I'm standing by my promise! I'll stop you even if it's the last thing I do!"

"But Annie, how can you even fight us if there's still one more spy lingering among your friends?"

"I don't care! You're the real enemy! I won't let anything distract me from that!"

Jason glared at the robot. "Yeah, for every life you've ruined and taken away, I'll stand against you and your horrible tricks!"

Bonks wiped away her bittersweet tears. "Steven, Bart, and Dave died fighting against you... I'll do my best to carry on what they left behind... I'll stand with my friends..."

"Yeah! I'll- I'll stand too! Literally!" Bodil exclaimed as he carefully set Jerry on the floor before gripping the wooden podium stand, grunting with exertion as he struggled to push himself up from the wheelchair with shaking arms.

Tyler's eyes widened. "Woah, woah- Don't hurt yourself!"

Bodil clutched the bar harder as he finally managed to straighten his legs vertically. He swayed unsteadily on his feet, but he was giggling. "See! No potions this time! I can stand up by myself!"

"What kind of corny development is this? This isn't a story written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, now is it? Blegh! Sit back down!" MonoWither ordered.

"Someday we'll escape," Seto murmured. "If you asked me... I'd say you're losing your touch."

"L-Losing-?! You idiots! You haven't even scraped the surface that belies our true capabilities! Think you've won?! We're only just getting started! Do you want even more of your hopes to get crushed?!"

Seto opened his mouth to argue, but MonoWither cut him off.

"You know what?! We're not even going to let you answer that! Part 04 is over, hallelujah! Finally we've gotten rid of those pesky spies who were helping that failure of a Hope Organization! Both parties have been taken care of! Now vacation time is over and we can go back to the old place! We missed it very much, so we hope you don't mind if we hurry things up a bit!"

A sweet-smelling gas suddenly filled the room, obscuring everyone's vision as they coughed, shielding their faces to no avail.

As Seto's eyes watered and his vision dimmed, he looked up and stared directly into the red, gleaming, pitiless eyes of MonoWither as all three of their heads grinned.

 _I... I won't let you win... As long as I live, I'll... fight you... For everyone who's died..._  Seto thought before everything else faded to black.

* * *

When Steven opened his eyes, the first thing he saw were two people he had never seen before in his life staring down at him.

One was a man with jet-black hair with silvery specks, pale skin, purple eyes, and was wearing a black suit with a purple bowtie. The other was a dirty blond man of shorter stature wearing a torn white shirt and blue jeans.

These two appeared to be strangers. And yet... he felt like somewhere in his soul he knew them well...

Steven blinked in confusion before grinning at them. The two men smiled back and each grabbed one of his arms, helping him sit up. Steven glanced down at his clothes, which were in perfect condition, and then tentatively reached up and touched the bridge of his nose, which wasn't broken or bleeding. He stared up at the two men again as they observed their surroundings. Interestingly, despite the last remnants of flickering flames all around them, none of the three men cast a shadow.

Oh, then that must mean... That must mean they were...

Steven shakily rose to his feet, straightening himself as he turned around to face the wrecked remains of the auditorium. He winced, recent memories he didn't want to recall sparking up in his mind. The two others stood beside him, watching him carefully as they waited for him to process everything.

After a few moments, Steven smiled as he offered his hands to both of them.

_Together, right?_

The three of them walked down the steps, hand-in-hand, their laughter echoing through the empty room.

**PART 04 - WATCH AND WAIT AND WORK / until it all falls down**

**END**

**STILL ALIVE: 8 - 2 = 6 PARTICIPANTS**

**ITEM GET! You acquired the present "Gaming Device"**


	47. Fireworks

**PART 05- BLEW DOWN THE DOORS / and boxed us in**

* * *

_"Hey, are you okay?"_

_Seto opened his eyes weakly. Everything was dark, but he could feel what he assumed was mud sticking to his cheek as he laid face down on the ground._

_"Dave, don't come near him, he's covered in blood. Just keep playing your game. Bart, help me turn him over."_

_Seto didn't have the strength to fight back as two pairs of hands grabbed him and turned him over so he was lying on his back._

_"Don't worry, we're just here to help you- Eek!" The hands let go of him abruptly. Seto groaned softly as he tried to catch his bearings. Where was he? How did he get here? All he remembered was that it was New Year's Eve... Jason's concert... Ashley..._

_"H-His clothes- he's-!" a teenage boy stammered frantically to someone. Seto peered up at them warily. The boy was holding a flaming torch and standing next to two other people who looked like-_

_Seto flinched and instinctively tried to back away from the two mobs, but his aching muscles barely responded. He raised an arm and clutched his head. Why did he feel like he'd been beaten from head to toe?_

_"Who are you?" the boy asked, staring at him with what seemed like suspicion._

_"...I'm Seto..."_

_"And... what are you doing here?"_

_Suddenly, it all came crashing back to Seto. "You- You have to get out of here-" he stammered frantically, struggling to pick himself up. "There's a dangerous man nearby- He tried to kidnap my friend- Where is he, oh god if he found the others- I can't believe I let him get away-!"_

_"He's dead."_

_"What?"_

_"Assuming that's his body over there, the poor guy got completely torn apart somehow..._ _" the boy whispered with a shudder, looking at something on the ground a few yards away. "Are you hurt?" he asked, turning back._

_"I don't- I don't think so..." Seto mumbled._

_"I guess that's all his blood on you, then..." The boy shuddered again. "So... were you attacked by_ _Endermen_ _, or...?"_

_"I don't know... I was fighting him and he started choking me and I... blacked out then, I guess..."_

_"Hmm..." The boy looked around. "I guess you got lucky, he must have looked at a haunting of_ _Endermen_ _and gotten into huge trouble..."_

_A haunting of_ _Endermen_ _? Something felt off about that hypothesis to Seto, but he couldn't figure out what. For some reason, he didn't really want to figure it out..._

_"You said he was dangerous and tried to kidnap your friend?" the boy asked._

_"Yeah, we were at my friend Jason's concert when Bodil noticed that Ashley was kidnapped-"_

_The boy's eyes widened. "Jason? Bodil? Ashley?"_

_"Do you know them?"_

_"Y-Yeah, I'm their friend. Is Ashley okay?"_

_"I think so, I don't know... I know the others got her out but I hope they found their way back... Good thing Jordan left redstone torches as markers..."_

_The boy and the Enderman looked at each other. The Enderman nodded and the boy turned back. "My name's Steven," the boy said, approaching Seto. "Let's get you out of here,_ _it's_ _clearly_ _not_ _safe_ _. I don't_ _want us_ _to_ _run_ _into_ _any_ _monsters_ _."_

_"_ _Wh_ _-Why are you with two of them, then?" Seto asked,_ _stunned_ _._

_"They're not monsters, they're my_ _friends_ _._ _Can_ _you_ _stand_ _?_ _Here_ _, let me help..."_   _Steven_ _passed_   _the torch to the Enderman and bent down to help Seto up. "You're lucky we happened to be passing by," Steven murmured as the four walked together towards the redstone torches._

_"Yeah... Thanks..." Seto replied._ _It took too much effort to look straight ahead, so he resigned himself to_ _staring down at all the dirt and blood coating his black cloak._

_They walked for a few minutes before Steven suddenly stopped._ _"I see flashlights!" he exclaimed, waving his arm at something in front of them. "Hey, over here! We need help!"_

* * *

_Seto clutched the gray shock blanket that was wrapped around his body as he sat in the back seat of a police car, his legs dangling outside the vehicle. Exhausted, he leaned to the side and pressed his cheek against the seat, vaguely listening as the others told the officers about their accounts of the kidnapping. Since Ryan's mother happened to be there, Ryan, Mitch, and Jerome were also present._

_"Seto..." Jerome said, chuckling as he shook his head. "You really are something..."_

_"I don't mean to sound rude, but what is up with you going after stronger people and letting yourself get beaten up?" Ryan asked with exasperation._

_"Well he always wins the fight anyway," Mitch pointed out. "You should give him more credit."_

_"Still!"_

_"I'm just glad Ashley's okay and no one got hurt..." Seto murmured._

_"No one? What about you?" Ryan asked, crossing his arms._

_"Yeah, you did get beaten up pretty badly..." Mitch said sheepishly._

_"Besides that..."_

_"Not to take anything away from your heroic act, but you_   _really should_   _be more careful next time," Jerome advised._

_"I hope there isn't a next time," Seto replied._

_"_ _Boys?" Ryan's mother said, approaching them. "_ _I'm sorry to interrupt, b_ _ut I need to ask Seto about his account. Go chat with the others or something."_

_The three boys quickly left the area, leaving Ryan's mother and Seto alone._

_"How are you feeling?" she asked kindly._

_"I'm feeling better than before..."_

_"That's good to hear. Well, you are not obligated to answer my questions,"_   _the woman said, turning over to a new page in her notebook, "but it would definitely help to have your perspective on the whole thing. Even though there's not much more we can do with this case, given the culprit has already died, we'd like to wrap this up as best as possible."_

_"Okay," Seto mumbled._

_"Why don't you just start from the beginning?"_

_"Um... Ashley was already gone when I got here... She apparently had to use the restroom. At some point, Bodil went looking for her, and when he came back he was panicking because he'd found one of Ashley's hair ribbons. He led us to the place where he'd found it and there had clearly been a struggle where she was attacked by a sorcerer."_

_Ryan's mother stopped writing and looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Clearly? The others said you were the one who figured it out. How?"_

_"Well, it was easy to tell because of the dirt. There were two sets of footprints. One was from sneakers, the other from adult-sized boots. There were also body imprints everywhere, I guess the sorcerer must have tried to pin Ashley down."_

_"And how did you know it was a sorcerer?"_

_"I knew because I saw potion bottle shards and burn marks all over the place. I guess the shards were there because a potion was used to subdue Ashley._ _There was also the smell of magic, I'd recognize it anywhere._ _"_

_The woman stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Unbelievable. This isn't exactly related to the case, but how old are you?"_

_"15..."_

_"Oh, I thought you were younger for some reason. Do you watch a lot of crime shows?"_

_"No... I don't watch TV at all..."_

_"Hmm. This is just my opinion, but I think you should be some sort of investigator someday. I have a feeling you'd be good at it, especially if you had professional training."_

_"My mother was a detective," Seto blurted out without thinking._

_"She was? Huh, must be in your blood."_

_"I guess, but I don't think being a detective's for me..."_

_"Well, in any case, you are definitely one smart young man, and I'm sure that intuition of yours will help in the long run."_

_Seto felt his face turn red and he looked away. "Um... Thank you..."_

_"Anyway, I'm sorry about that, let's get back to what happened. So you figured all that out, and then what did you do?"_

_"We were lucky the man left footprints. I wanted to go after him myself, but the others insisted on going with me, so I told Bonks to get security while the rest of us followed the footprints. Jordan left a trail of redstone torches so we could find our way back. We walked for a bit before we finally got to where they were. The man had a campfire set up and Ashley was tied to a tree. She was awake. I think the man was trying to make another potion to knock her out again. I told Bodil and Tyler to help get her out while Annie used her arrows to distract the man. Jordan was our scout for danger while Sky went back to warn security."_

_"Next time, maybe you should wait until the police actually get here..." Ryan's mother murmured. "You guys were lucky you weren't hurt badly. What if there had been other kidnappers there?"_

_"Uh..." Seto felt embarrassed. "Well... There wasn't any time to waste, so..."_

_"Don't put yourself at risk like that again, young man. But keep going."_

_"I went to help Annie because the man had gone after her. I told Annie to help get Ashley free while I distracted the man to buy them some time."_

_"All by yourself?"_

_"I thought I could take him on..." Seto mumbled._

_"You teenage boys are all the same... And then that's when he almost killed you?"_

_"We... um... fought for a bit, and then he got his hands around my neck. That's... all I remember before I blacked out... When I woke up, Steven was there and the man was dead. Steven thinks that a group of_ _Endermen_ _got him..."_

_"I'm no detective, but it certainly seems that way to me as well. Ender particles have a certain... smell. The claw marks also seem to match. Anyway, so Steven helped you get back here?"_

_"Yeah, that's all that happened."_

_Ryan's mother nodded as she wrote some final words before closing the notebook. "I believe that's enough to get this report over with. We'll have to identify the man, see if he's done this to other people. Even though you were extremely reckless, you should be proud of yourself. You and your friends definitely helped Ashley. Who knows what he planned to do with her..."_

_"Y-Yeah..."_

_Ryan's mother frowned as she looked down. "This is slightly off topic, but... Where did you get your cloak?"_

_"This cloak?" Seto's face paled as he stared down at the Ender Dragon face. How much did the police know about the Order? He'd assumed that the group was so obscure, the cloak would go unrecognized... "Oh, um... I think I got it off some random market seller somewhere... I saw it and thought it looked... cool?"_

_"Ah, I see. Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but that symbol is associated with a dangerous cult."_

_"Oh, it is? I didn't know that..."_

_"Yes, I know it just looks like a regular dragon face, but it's quite dangerous for you to be wearing that in public. Members of the cult who see it might get the wrong idea."_

_"I don't go outside very much..."_

_Ryan's mother blinked at him. "Well, even still. Don't wear this when you go outside. Don't you have any other ones?"_

_"Y-Yeah... I do..." Seto lied._

_"Then wear those instead. I'd hate for you to get into trouble with this cult. The people in it are not those you'd want to get involved with."_

_"I'll try not to..."_

_"Anyway, thank you for your help. I think we're just about done here then, and your friends are waiting to talk to you. You can keep the blanket if you want."_

_"Thank you..." Seto stood up slowly, still clutching the gray blanket, and walked over to his friends._

_"Seto! There you are!" Sky called out as the others rushed to his side._

_"Are you okay?" Bonks asked._

_"I thought you'd been killed!" Bodil shrieked._

_"I'm fine..." Seto mumbled, shrinking into himself due to all the attention. "You should thank Steven for helping me..."_

_Steven glanced away. "It was nothing..."_

_"I'm glad you were okay in the end," Jordan murmured._

_"Yeah, you were really lucky!" Seth exclaimed._

_"When I left, I didn't realize you'd actually start fighting the guy..." Annie said, rolling her eyes._

_"See, this is what I meant! Can you stop rushing into danger for once?!" Ryan scolded._

_"Fighting him head-on dangerous! What the hell were you thinking?!" Husky demanded._

_"He kind of forced me to fight him..." Seto replied._

_"I personally think it was... um..." Tyler looked away, his face turning red. "...really brave what you did, Seto..."_

_"Okay, I'm not the only one who thought it was hot," Jason said, grinning._

_"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"_

_Ashley suddenly stepped forward. "So, um... I guess this is the first time we've met, Seto..." she muttered awkwardly. "But I'd like to thank you for saving me."_

_"Well... The others helped too... You should be thanking them, not me..." Seto replied shyly._

_"Aw come on, give yourself some more credit!" Mitch complained._

_"Yeah, I wasn't even there, but I'm pretty sure you were the main helper," Jerome muttered._

_"I'm thankful for all of your help, I owe all of you," Ashley said. "I'm sorry I wasn't more careful and that I caused all this trouble, though. And I made your concert end earlier than it should have, Jason..."_

_"Who cares about that?" Jason asked, laughing. "I'm just glad people actually showed up. Besides, what really matters is-"_

**-BOOM!-**

_"EEK! WHAT IS THAT?!" Bodil shrieked, clinging onto Ashley._

_"I totally forgot about the fireworks!" Husky cried out._

_"How could you forget something like that?!" Annie snapped, shielding her ears with her hands._

_"S-Sorry for startling you all, we set them to go off at exactly midnight..." Seth said, giggling nervously._

_Seto looked up, watching in awe as brilliant fireworks of all sorts of colors gloriously erupted in the night sky._

_"Well, uh, Happy New Year?" Jordan asked, laughing._

_"Happy New Year!" everyone cheered except for Seto, who couldn't look away from the spectacular sight. He had seen many pictures of fireworks, knew how to craft them, but he had never expected them to be this breathtaking..._

_"See? What did I tell you! You have to see them in person!" Sky shouted over the booming sounds. "Aren't they great?!"_

_Seto smiled slowly. "Yeah... They are..."_

_"Isn't this the best New Year's you've ever had?!"_

_"Yeah... And the best birthday..."_

_Sky's face fell. "W-Wait, what? Birthday?"_

_"My birthday's on January 1st..."_

_"And you never told me?!" Sky shrieked, alerting everyone's attention._

_"Woah, it's actually your birthday?!" Steven asked, shocked._

_Seto shied away from everyone, suddenly the center of attention again. "Um... yeah...?"_

_"How old are you now?" Seth asked._

_"S-Sixteen..."_

_"_ _Oooh_ _, it's your sweet sixteen, gurl!" Jason said, laughing._

_"We have to sing the birthday song!" Bonks exclaimed._

_"All right, everyone stand back!" Jerome said, approaching Seto._

_Seto's eyes widened. "W-Wait, what are you gonna- Ah! Put me down!"_

_Jerome grabbed Seto, lifted him up like he weighed absolutely nothing and placed him on his shoulders. Everyone else surrounded them._

_"On the count of three!" Tyler shouted, grinning._

_Seto's cheeks turned red as he tried to hide his face in the shock blanket. "D-Don't, you don't have to-!"_

_"One, two, three!"_

_Everyone started singing the birthday song, much to Seto's embarrassment. However, he couldn't stop himself from grinning behind his shielded face. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this happy... In those moments, as he was surrounded by his new friends... He felt like this happiness would last forever..._

* * *

It seemed that everyone was back in their original rooms now. For a few moments, Seto was tempted to persuade himself that everything that had happened in the resort was just a terrible, messed-up dream. He wanted to believe that when he left the room, Jordan, Steven, Bart, and Dave would still be alive and well. But no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't deny the truth. Those four had been the next ones to perish in this deadly show, and it was all thanks to MonoWither. Now there were only six participants left. Was there any way more people could die at this point? How much longer was MonoWither planning to draw this out?

_"I hope you all get out of here somehow... I know you will, just trust me..." Steven said, a hopeful smile on his lips. "You've all made it this far, right? Just keep going no matter what, don't give up... Believe in us, believe in your friends, and believe in yourself... You'll make it through, I promise..."_

Seto sat on the bed, his pillow propped up behind him, as he stared at a familiar gaming device in his hands. He examined it carefully, observing how the symbols and colors of the keys were faded because Dave had pressed them so much. He had obviously spent lots of time playing with this device; rarely had the zombie been seen without his face totally lost in his precious video games.

This device was clearly very dear to him. But if that was the case, why would Dave just leave it there in the courtroom?

It had to have been some deliberate action on Dave's part. The device was usually in either his or Steven's pocket, so the likelihood that Dave had dropped it by accident was low. But Seto couldn't think of any reason why he would just leave it on the floor before he was sent off to his execution.

Seto sighed. Perhaps he was just overthinking it, he thought, as he leaned back against the pillow. Maybe Dave had just wanted to leave it behind as some sort of memento for them. Or maybe it really had just been an accident. Still, the thought refused to leave Seto for some reason. He raised the gaming device, wondering why he felt so bothered by this, before holding down what looked like the power button. The device turned on and played a startup animation before the menu for Ghast Blasters loaded.

Seto hesitated for a moment before using the arrow keys to select "New Game". The game's theme song played as the level loaded to show a pixelated person standing on a white surface. An 8-bit ghast appeared at the bottom.

_LEVEL 01- START!_

The ghast started shooting fire blasts at the character. Seto struggled to move the character away from the fire blasts but accidentally stepped into a hole, losing a life.

Seto frowned and sat up straighter. He needed to concentrate better if he was going to beat this level...

The second time, Seto lasted for a little bit longer as he dodged more fire blasts, but eventually found himself cornered and unable to jump to safety. His character promptly plunged into the lava below and he lost another life.

Seto sighed as he sat up again and held the device closer to his face, but that was when a strange message popped up.

_BONUS LEVEL UNLOCKED: PLAY? YES or NO_

Bonus level? This wasn't actually part of the game, was it? Why would he get a bonus level before he even finished the first level? 

Seto raised his eyebrows as he moved to select "YES", but then as he relaxed his arms, the message disappeared and resumed showing the game.

_Huh..._

Seto looked up at the security camera that was above his head, then back down at the device. He moved the device towards his face again, and the message appeared. Then he moved it back in view of the camera, and then the message disappeared.

This couldn't be a coincidence.

Keeping the device out of the camera's view, Seto selected "YES", only to be met with another message.

_PASSWORD? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

There was a numeric keypad underneath the message. Seto stared at the screen, his mind scrambling desperately as he wondered what the hell this all meant. Now it was asking for a password to access a supposed bonus level? Why would this only appear once the device was in the camera's blind spot?

Somehow, he had a feeling this was related to why Dave had left the device on the floor...

**DING DONG, DING DONG**

**Good morning, bastards! It's 7 in the morning! Time to wake up! Let's all strive to have fun and entertain the audience today!**

Barely registering the morning announcement, Seto frowned as he stared at the device. He wanted to figure this out, but without a password, there wasn't anything he could do...

...right...?

Seto felt for the key that Steven had secretly given him back in the trial and took it out, making sure the camera couldn't see it. Was there something hidden in Steven's room that he wanted Seto to see? It looked just like a regular room key, after all. To make sure, Seto took his own room key out and compared the two. They were clearly made out of the same material and had the same head shape. The only visible differences were the shape of the key blades and...

It was then that Seto noticed that the serial number inscribed on Steven's key was "19-20-5-22-5-14" while the one on Seto's was "19-5-20-15". He didn't know why he thought that was strange; different room keys were bound to have different numbers, right?

Then it came to Seto like a flash of light. The alphabet! The numbers were there to match the room key with the name of its owner! Therefore, this was definitely Steven's room key. He felt slightly pleased with himself for having figured it out, but that feeling of victory quickly faded once he realized it didn't have anything to do with his current enigma. Or did it?

Seto stared at Steven's key again, paying attention to the serial number. It consisted of 6 numbers that were separated by hyphens and corresponded to the letters in Steven's name. There were 10 digits in total. 10 digits... wait, didn't the password...?

Seto grabbed the device and pulled up the password prompt, which indeed asked for a password that consisted of 10 one-digit integers. Would there be a penalty for getting this wrong? There was only one way to find out. Seto used the arrow keys to select each digit, praying that this would work.

When he inputted the last digit, the screen suddenly flashed green as a new message popped up.

PASSWORD CORRECT. LOADING C.O.D.I.E. 0%...

The percentage went up rapidly until it reached 100%. When it did, the screen went black for a few seconds before flickering on again.

What Seto saw before him almost made him drop the gaming device and scream in total shock. Instead, he found himself paralyzed, unable to mentally process what he was seeing right before him. Was he still dreaming somehow? Was this some bizarre hallucination? What the hell did this mean?

From the screen of the gaming device, a spitting image of Seth's face smiled up at Seto.


	48. Virtual Friend

_What... am I looking at...?_ Seto thought, completely bewildered.

From the screen, Seth's expression quickly changed to one of confusion as well.

For a few moments, all they could do was stare at each other, unsure of what to do. Finally, text appeared on the screen next to the face.

_YOU ARE SETO, CORRECT?_

Seto blinked at the screen before nodding slowly. The image stared downward as more text appeared.

_IS STEVEN DEAD?_

Seto nodded again.

The image closed his eyes and bit his lip sadly.

_HE TOLD ME THIS WOULD HAPPEN. WHERE ARE_ _BART_ _AND_ _DAVE_ _?_

Seto glanced up at the camera above his head, unsure of what would happen if he said something out loud. Surely MonoWither would come investigate if he started speaking for no apparent reason?

 _IT IS OKAY TO SPEAK. I HAVE TAMPERED WITH THE CAMERA SO THAT IT WILL NOT RECORD SOUND_   _FOR THE MOMENT._

Seto cleared his throat. "...They're dead too..." he said in a small voice.

The image flinched and his eyes widened. "Dead?" he asked aloud. Seto was shocked to hear Seth's voice coming from the device, albeit slightly robotic-toned. "So MonoWither executed all three of them?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh no... That means they really do know what we've done..."

"What you've done?" Seto asked, confused.

"How did you find me?" the program asked, ignoring the question.

"Steven secretly gave me his room key and Dave left behind his gaming device before the execution," Seto replied. "I just put two and two together."

"I see, so they trusted you with me... Well, you passed my test, so I'm sure I can trust you too!"

Seto's eyes widened. "Test? What test?!"

"Earlier I didn't speak because I wanted to see how you'd respond. If you were working for the Puppetmaster, you wouldn't have cared if the camera overheard you, but you did. So according to my interpretation, you're not on the side of despair!"

"Oh... Well, um... If you don't mind me asking, what are you?" Seto asked tentatively. "Why do you look and sound like Seth?"

"I'm an AI created by Seth! You can call me CODIE, it stands for Cybernetic Observer Designed for Interpreting and Examining!"

"Seth created you? When did he get the chance to do that?"

"Before the show started, I believe."

"What? All the way back then? But why would he put you in Dave's gaming device?"

CODIE sighed. "I don't know, I never really got the chance to interact with my creator. All I know is that I was created to help you guys get out of this place! I know I haven't really been living up to it since it's my fault Hope Organization didn't know about the robots, but I'll never stop trying!"

"Um, the timing doesn't exactly match up..."

"Yeah, I know it doesn't make much sense, but unfortunately my creator isn't around anymore to explain... It's all the Puppetmaster's fault! They killed my creator because he tried to help you guys! So in order to avenge my creator, I must finish what he started!"

"So then... Steven, Bart, and Dave used you to contact Hope Organization?" Seto asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know what I can do now..." CODIE said sadly. "Hope Organization knows where you are, but I don't know if they'll be able to do anything about it now... It's all my fault, I should have known about the robots! Then I could have warned them and they would have been better prepared!!!"

"N-No, it's not your fault, don't blame yourself..." Seto said, wondering briefly why he was trying to comfort a computer program of all things. Maybe it was because it reminded him so much of Seth when he was still alive. "After all, you can't forget that the Puppetmaster's the one behind all this."

"But if they had known about the robots and been better prepared, I could have saved all of you! And then all those Organization members, Jordan, Steven, Bart, and Dave wouldn't have had to die!" CODIE cringed. "I know I'm just an AI, but... maybe I feel the human equivalent of regret... I failed to carry out my duty... and I already miss Steven and his friends... They were the only ones I ever talked to during my short existence, you know?"

"It's not your fault," Seto repeated. "And I miss them too, but I'm sure they didn't think you failed. If they had, they wouldn't have passed you on to me, right?"

"I guess you're right..." CODIE admitted. "But I don't know how I can fulfill my purpose anymore. What do you think I should do?"

"Um... Well, maybe we should figure out who's behind all this and why."

"Ah, that's a good idea!" CODIE exclaimed. "If we uncover who the Puppetmaster is and why they're doing this, we might be able to stop them! I don't know how I can help, but I'll do my best, I promise! You can count on me!"

Seto couldn't help but find himself smiling slightly. After everything that had happened, some pure, wholesome optimism was nice to hear.

"Hmm, figuring out the Puppetmaster will be tough, but I think I already knew their motives! After all, in my quest to help everyone get out of here, Steven, Bart, Dave, and I already figured out a few things!"

"You did? Like what?"

"Well, um, Bart used to use the passageway to sneak onto the upper floors before the Puppetmaster caught on. One time, he managed to take the Puppetmaster's plan book!"

"He- He just stole it from them?!"

"Well he had to put it back fast or else they would get suspicious, but I scanned all of the pages before that!" CODIE said proudly, their digital eyes beaming.

"What was written in there?"

"It's basically their plans for the show. They wrote down ideas for the special executions of every participant, for instance..."

Seto shuddered, wondering what his special execution was.

"Yeah, there were also the motives planned for each 'part'; that's how Steven knew what the Forbidden Actions were. I guess if the Puppetmaster knew that, then they did notice the book was gone at some point..."

"...So... What's the next motive?" Seto asked faintly.

"For Part 05, there are actually two possible ones," CODIE replied. "One involves slowly releasing a toxic gas into the building that will eventually kill everyone unless someone kills another."

Seto almost felt his heart stop. A deadly toxic gas? How would everyone react to that? This would definitely be much quicker than starvation, how fast would someone snap under the pressure?

"...And the other one?"

"Yeah, um... all it said was 'Reveal!!!' It was so vague, they must have written it down while knowing someone might steal the book. But according to my interpretation, the different ink used while writing the second motive indicates that this might be a newer one that the Puppetmaster has decided to use instead of the first one."

"I see. If that's the case, I wonder what this revelation will be..." Seto mused. Could it possibly be worse than toxic gas?

"Back on the subject of the Puppetmaster's motives, the Puppetmaster did mention that this show would help them gain 'more XP'. If you don't know, XP generally stands for 'experience points' in role-playing games. The more XP you gain, the closer you get to achieving higher levels in a game. The thought that went into this 'show' also indicates that they have been planning this seriously for a very long time. Analyzing these facts, along with the knowledge that the Puppetmaster seemingly has no material gain from this, there can only be one general motive: emotional satisfaction."

"Emotional satisfaction..." Seto echoed faintly. Although MonoWither had stated countless times that their show was for "entertainment", hearing CODIE confirm it sent chills racing down Seto's spine. All of the pain and anguish everyone had suffered... it had all been for the sake of someone's personal entertainment?

"Yes, the Puppetmaster seems to enjoy causing despair and probably wants to gain more 'experience' so that they can hurt and/or kill more people. Calling them a sadist would most likely not be an overstatement."

"So... are all of the Three Despairs doing this for 'emotional satisfaction'?" Seto asked.

"Huh? 'Three Despairs'?" CODIE asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't know about them?"

"No, who are they?" CODIE asked. "Please tell me more! Steven, Bart, and Dave never told me about this!"

Suddenly Seto had a recollection...

_"Your favorite number is three, isn't it..." Seto muttered. "First there's the fact you chose a three-headed Wither as your mascot, then you went on some tirade about the duality of hope and despair existing in one person or something like that, and then you told me about the 'Three Despairs'..."_

_At the mention of the last point, Steven gave Seto a strange, perplexed expression._

"I don't know," Seto replied. "All I know is that the Puppetmaster refers to themselves, the spy, and another person as the 'Three Despairs'. At least, that's what MonoWither told me."

"A third person is involved?" CODIE asked aloud. "Oh no, that means some of my interpretations were wrong; I thought there were just two people behind all this..."

"I don't have any clue who the three of them are," Seto admitted. "I know that the Puppetmaster has some connection to Jade, but that's it."

"Oh, so you know about that too?" CODIE asked. "Yeah, the Puppetmaster also wrote about that. They chose the celebrities that Jade 'seemed to like the most'. The Puppetmaster must have some sort of vendetta against Jade, and fulfilling that goal will give them more 'emotional satisfaction'. I just wish I had more information about Jade. If she was alive, this would be easier..."

"Her classmates must be related to this," Seto said.

"What? Her classmates? How come you know so much more than I do?!"

An idea suddenly formed in Seto's head. "The books..." he murmured to himself.

"What books?"

"When we were in the resort, I found a secret room with a ton of books. I'm pretty sure most of them were old notes written by people of the Order, but the book Jade used to read was there too. There was a note stuck inside, written by her. She mentioned that she didn't remember being chosen in a lottery. MonoWither also implied that all of her classmates were dead somehow."

"And... All of this information was hidden in a secret room, only meant for the Puppetmaster..." CODIE murmured.

"Well, it seemed like the old books hadn't been touched in ages. I think MonoWither just dumped them there."

"They did?! All of that valuable information... dumped? Why would they do that?"

Seto scoffed. "They told me that with computers, books weren't needed anymore. Can you believe that?! Computers replacing books? That's stupid. Computers will never be better than books-" Seto's eyes widened. "I- um- I mean- No offense-"

CODIE didn't reply; he had either not heard or simply not cared about Seto's statement. The AI looked positively brimming with excitement as he gazed up at Seto.

"Of course! It all makes sense now!"

"It uh... does...?"

"The Puppetmaster must have uploaded all of that information onto a computer!" CODIE exclaimed. "I could probably access it if that information is backed up on some sort of cloud or something."

"A cloud?" Seto asked, utterly confused.

"Yeah, and if I hack my way into the Wi-Fi network, I can download the information from the cloud and scan the data! However, it would be easier if I connected with a device that shares the same Wi-Fi network that the Puppetmaster uses... Oh! That's it! I can use one of the computers in the computer room to get into the cloud! That's what we need to do! You get it?"

Seto blinked. "Um... Sure... You need to connect to a computer to... get into a cloud..."

"That's right! Finally, I'll have new information to examine! I love new information!" CODIE exclaimed, grinning. "Thank you so much, Seto! I'd hug you if I could!"

"Oh... You're welcome? I don't know how I can help you, though."

"Hmm, don't worry about that. I've already come up with a plan! How good are you at lying?"

* * *

When Seto entered the cafeteria, he saw that everyone else was already awake (including Jerry, who was sitting on the table in front of Bonks, still drooping sadly). They were all sitting at the same table, discussing something together, but stopped when they saw him.

"Seto!" Tyler exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

"'Morning," Seto said, nodding in acknowledgment as he made his way to the kitchen. As he did so, he passed by the memorial table, which was now almost completely filled with picture frames. He stopped for a moment to look at the newest one Bonks had drawn, which showed Steven, Bart, and Dave exploring a cave together.

He couldn't let their sacrifice be in vain...

Seto was still a bit weak from nearly starving to death the days before, so he went to the kitchen and grabbed a few energy bars before heading back to the table and sitting next to Tyler. As he started unpeeling the wrapper, however, he noticed that everyone was staring at him. Seto glanced warily at them. "...Is something wrong?"

Annie cleared her throat. "Um... Seto... I owe you an apology for the way I treated you these past few days," she said.

Seto looked away. "It's fine," he mumbled shyly. "You were just trying to protect yourself from your Forbidden Action, that's all."

"But by doing that, I almost made you activate yours," Annie countered. "And most importantly, in the end you weren't even a spy. So I was accusing you like that for no good reason."

"I'm sorry too," Bodil said, hanging his head. It was only then that Seto noticed that he was no longer in a wheelchair. "I wanted to apologize sooner for calling you a spy earlier, but there wasn't any time. After you rescued me, I realized that you weren't a spy because my Forbidden Action didn't go off when you touched me."

"I also told them about how you didn't activate mine either," Tyler said.

"Yeah, so, sorry for suspecting you..." Jason said awkwardly.

"We won't do it again!" Bonks vowed. "After everything you've done, you've done more than enough to earn our trust!"

"It's fine, seriously..." Seto said, staring down at his lap. "I get it, if I was someone else I would have suspected me too..."

"I know there's a real spy among us still, but I'll try not to make the same mistake and jump to conclusions again," Annie said.

"Yeah, Steven wanted us to trust each other and work together," Jason said.

"And that's what we're gonna do!" Bodil declared.

_"Well well well, look who finally decided to show up!!!"_

Everyone flinched as MonoWither suddenly hovered over to them, grinning. "So? How do you feel after that nice little vacation everyone had?"

No one responded.

"Aw, but it seems like Seto here still misses the fun! After all, while you guys were waking up and eating breakfast, he was playing video games without a care in the world!"

"Video games?" Tyler asked as everyone stared at Seto in confusion.

Seto felt his heart start to beat faster, but he forced down his panic. "Um..."

"Seems like he took a little something from your old zombie friend! Wow Seto, how long have you been waiting to keep that retro device for yourself?"

"He left it there, so I just took it to keep as a memoir-"

"We never knew you were one for video games, though! You were playing for awhile, too! We wonder what level you got to!"

"Hey MonoWither, could you just shut up?" Annie asked exasperatedly.

"Woah, Annie, we thought you suspected he was a spy, and now you're defending him?"

"Well one, he isn't a spy, and two, your talking is getting on my nerves."

"Just because he isn't a spy doesn't mean he's innocent! After all, there's still a third member of the Three Despairs who you don't know about!"

"Am I the only one who doesn't know what this 'Three Despairs' is supposed to mean?" Jason asked.

"No, I don't know either..." Bodil replied.

"Oh Seto, why don't you explain!"

Seto glanced around before clearing his throat. "MonoWither told me that there are 'Three Despairs' who are behind all this. At the time I thought it just consisted of the Puppetmaster and the two spies, but I was wrong."

"Exactly! Three's the magic number! So Annie, are you really so sure you can trust Seto just because he's not a spy?"

Annie bit her lip and stared down at her lap. "Well if he really was guilty, you wouldn't be implying it so much, would you?"

"Besides, suspecting each other won't solve anything!" Bonks declared. "Steven wouldn't want us to do that!"

"That doesn't make any sense! Allowing the traitors to wallow among you all will bring peace? Hah!"

"Did we ever ask for your input?" Jason deadpanned.

"Aw Jason, do you really want us gone from the conversation that badly...? Well, if that's what you want, we can't deny it! So, anyway, we just wanted to tell you about the 4th floor!"

"The 4th floor? I thought you said there wasn't anything 'show-worthy' on it," Seto said.

"Eh, most of it isn't, but we changed our minds! After all, the way to get to the resort is there!"

"Wh-What?!" Bodil stammered. "How?!"

"A portal, most likely," Seto murmured.

"Correct!" MonoWither exclaimed. "However, only the room to the portal is accessible! Everything else is not show-worthy and thus cannot be seen by the public eye! Our private stuff is there, so don't you dare go snooping around!" Seto noticed MonoWither's heads turn to face him before they all winked.

_Shit... They're onto me... They're clearly throwing me bait, too..._

"Whatever," Jason grumbled. "Who cares? Just leave us alone."

"Fine, fine! Do whatever you want!" MonoWither snapped. "We just thought you'd appreciate this information!"

Annie stood up, sending her chair screeching backward. "All right, I'm getting out of here. Who's with me?"

Everyone murmured in agreement as they stood up and walked out of the cafeteria, leaving MonoWither behind. Bonks held Jerry in her arms.

Seto was almost out of the room when he felt something move in his side pocket. He yelped as he quickly pressed his hand against it, stopping the gaming device from being pulled out by some invisible force. Seto whirled around, glaring at MonoWither.

"What? We didn't do anything!" MonoWither exclaimed, grinning.

Seto quickly shoved the device back inside. "Why the hell did you try to take it?"

"Aw, we just wanted to play some retro games too..."

"First you don't stop asking about it, now you try to steal it. Is there something special about this device or something that you don't want me to know about?" Seto asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, it's a classic! Of course it's special!"

"You're a horrible liar."

"Maybe we could say the same thing about you!"

"Leave him alone!" Tyler shouted. "It's just a keepsake!"

Without warning, MonoWither snarled viciously at Tyler. "YOU STAY OUT OF THIS, YOU STUPID LITTLE-!!!"

Suddenly, MonoWither lunged at Tyler, jaws gaping, fully prepared to bite Tyler's face the same way they'd bitten Seto's arm. Tyler screamed and shielded his face, but MonoWither smacked into a purple barrier before they could reach him. "Ow, what the-"

 _"Get... away from him..."_ Seto said in a low voice, his raised arms trembling as he glared daggers at MonoWither.

Jason quickly pulled Tyler away from MonoWither, staring at them fearfully.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Annie shouted.

"Why would you try to do that to him?!" Bonks cried out.

Bodil whimpered. "Y-Yeah, he didn't break any rules!"

MonoWither was silent for a few moments as they processed the situation. "Oh... Did it happen again? Whoopsie daisy!"

"What's up with you and snapping recently?" Seto asked suspiciously.

"Hmph! It's all your fault! Maybe if you participants weren't being so annoying recently, we wouldn't have all this pent-up aggression! Ever thought of that?! Things were going great up until Part 03! And yeah that murder was still full of despair, but everything just went downhill after that! Lots of despair still, but not the same! Being a TV host, we want our show to be despairingly entertaining, but things haven't really gone as planned because of you lot!"

"Why should we care?" Annie asked.

"Why should you care?! Of course you should care! We're supposed to be the ones in control of everything! We're the ones with all the power! We're the creators of this show! The  _gods_ of this world! GODS, YOU HEAR US?! GODS!!! YOU CAN'T DEFY YOUR GODS, CAN YOU?!?! NO!!! DEFIANCE OF YOUR GODS SHOULD BE PUNISHABLE BY  _DEATH_!!!" MonoWither screeched as they lunged towards the memorial table and shoved off all of the picture frames, letting the glass shatter on the floor. The candles were also knocked over and extinguished.

"Hey! S-Stop! What are you doing?!?!" Bonks shrieked hysterically, trying to reach the pictures before Annie stopped her.

"HAH! STOP?! YOU CAN'T TELL US WHAT TO DO!!! WE ARE YOUR GODS, DON'T YOU GET IT?! YOU LISTEN TO US, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!!!"

"What the hell's gotten into you?!" Annie demanded, stepping in front of everyone protectively.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!!! We're- just- FINE!!!" MonoWither flung themselves into the kitchen, where deafening clanging and clattering sounds, as well as their furious shrieks, filled the air.

"We- We need to get out of here!!!" Bodil stammered, backing away.

"Yeah, MonoWither's totally lost it!" Jason said with wide eyes.

MonoWither reemerged from the kitchen, levitating many metal knives. "YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE?! FINE!!! GET OUT!!! GET OUT, ALL OF YOU!!!"

Everyone ducked as MonoWither launched a knife at them, which sailed over their heads and disappeared down the hallway to their rooms.

"RUN!!!" Bonks shrieked.

Without wasting a single moment, everyone fled the scene, scattering in different directions in the chaos.

* * *

Seto bolted to the computer room, Tyler following him closely. He flung open the door and raced inside.

"Holy shit, holy shit..." Tyler muttered breathlessly as he shut the door behind him. "What the hell's wrong with MonoWither? I mean, they were never sane in the first place, but this is just ridiculous! Whatever happened to only wanting  _us_  to kill each other?!"

Seto didn't reply. Despite his pounding heart, he forced himself to calm down slightly as he scanned the room. "Tyler? Do you see a computer with a... um... 'USB cable'...?"

"Huh?" Tyler asked, looking around. "Uh... Here! Here's one!" Tyler raced over to a computer and tugged the cable out. "What do you need it for?"

Seto took it and sat down next to the computer with his name still taped on it. "I need to charge Dave's gaming device..." he replied, plugging it in before turning on the computer. The device lit up and showed a battery symbol with a bolt in the middle. The percentage "17%" popped up.

"Oh..." Tyler said, trailing off as he took a seat beside him. "S-Seto... I don't know why, but MonoWither's really bothered by that..."

"Yeah, given that they actually threw a knife at us, I'd call that bothered."

"Woah, wait, I wasn't talking about that, I meant what happened before th-" Tyler gulped. "You think it's because of you having Dave's gaming device?"

"They... probably don't like the reminder. Dave helped spy for Hope Organization, right? It must be a sore spot for them," Seto half-lied. No, MonoWither was smarter than they led on. They knew something was up with the device. Not CODIE's existence specifically, but something. And Seto knew it would take every bit of effort within him to lie convincingly. Fortunately, CODIE had helped with the excuses he had in mind.

"That makes sense," Tyler said with a shiver. "To think such a minor thing could set them off so badly... I had no idea that whoever's behind MonoWither has such an extreme god complex..."

"Yeah..."

"Maybe... Maybe you should just let them have it," Tyler mumbled.

"Why would I do what they want?" Seto asked. "They already destroyed Bonks' memorial. If we forget what's happened-"

"I know, but I'm worried they'll... get more pissed off," Tyler admitted.

"Don't worry about it. If they snap again, they'll target me, not anyone else-"

"That's  _exactly_  why I'm worried!!!"

Seto looked away from the computer screen to face him, confused. "What?"

"What if they do the same thing they did with Steven?!" Tyler demanded. "What if they get you killed somehow?! Are you really going to risk everything just to keep this? I know it's the last thing we have to remember them but I don't think it's worth losing you over!!!"

Seto turned back, biting his lip. "I'll be careful. Trust me, Tyler. I know what I'm doing."

Tyler swallowed nervously. "...If... If you say so..." he said, although he didn't look very reassured.

Seto nodded as he moved the computer mouse, scanning the icons on the screen.

"So, uh, what are you doing now?" Tyler asked hesitantly.

"Do you know how to find the videos we watched for the first motive?" Seto asked.

Tyler's face paled. "Wh-Why would you want to watch that?"

_"Yeah, that's an answer we weren't expecting..."_

Tyler flinched, whirling around to see MonoWither. "AGH! DON'T HURT US!!!" he shrieked hysterically.

"No need to be so scared! We're not mad anymore!" MonoWither said brightly.

"Y-You're not?" Tyler asked tentatively. "You're not gonna... whip out a knife or... try to bite off my face again...?"

"Nope! We're actually here to apologize for our outburst! Stress is a horrible thing!"

"Yeah, it definitely is..." Tyler said, laughing nervously as he shifted awkwardly.

"So Seto, whatcha need that video for?"

"I don't believe they're dead," Seto muttered, finally finding the video file.

"So it finally took you all this time to get thinking about your video, huh? Well it's too late! The first motive was finished a long time ago, you had your chance!"

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Well what did you mean?" MonoWither asked. "Surely you have some... ulterior motive for doing this...?"

"I need to know if the video is fake or not. Now leave me alone." Seto double-clicked the video harder than he needed to.

"Say, you're still keeping that device close to you, huh?"

"It's just charging."

"Really? Can we see?"

Seto stared at them with a deadpan expression as he lifted the device and showed the symbol, which now had "43%" underneath it.

"Hmm, can't say we're convinced."

"Then what would convince you?"

"Maybe if you handed it over-"

"Why do you want this so badly? There's something special about it, isn't there? That's the only reason why you'd keep pestering me about it!"

"Of course not!"

"Now that you've implied there's something special about it that you don't want me to find out about, I'm definitely going to keep it."

MonoWither grumbled. "We just don't like seeing it. We wanted to get rid of everything related to... those unmentionables."

"Really?"

"You're not helping our mood, Seto!"

"Well hate Steven, Bart, and Dave all you want, don't bother me about it again. Are temper tantrums really what show hosts should be doing in front of the audience?"

"Oh, Seto, you're way too good at being a protagonist with your daring, challenging lines! We love you so much for it, we hate you with all our mechanical guts!!!"

Seto didn't respond. He stared at the screen, trying not to cringe when he saw the supposed bodies of Ty, Brice, and Kyle. The bloody sight still made his stomach lurch and his skin crawl.

"Fine! But don't think you've won! Don't forget the warning we gave you at the end of the last trial..." With a low, menacing chuckle, MonoWither disappeared. Coincidentally, the video showed its final message,  _"FIND OUT AFTER THE SHOW!"_

"Seto...?" Tyler asked in a small voice. "U-Um... Were those... who I think they were...?"

Seto sighed, burying his face in his hands. "Supposedly..."

"Oh..." Tyler stared down at the table. "So... Did you see anything that shows it's fake?"

"Well..." Seto glanced at the device, which was now at 54%. He prayed that it would go up faster, but at the same time he didn't want MonoWither to get suspicious if it charged too fast. "The faces weren't shown, for one thing."

"Huh, I don't think the faces were shown in my video too..." Tyler said quietly. "Is it a coincidence?"

Seto shook his head. "If I remember correctly... um... Sky's video didn't show the faces either..."

Tyler cringed at the memory. "Yeah, you're right... So does that mean the bodies are fake?"

"Possibly... I can't imagine MonoWither would pass the chance to show us the full details."

"So the videos aren't real!"

Seto glanced at the device again. 60%. "Well... At the same time, it was a motive. If we had known they were dead for certain, then... it might have had the opposite effect."

"...That... makes sense, I guess..." Tyler mumbled dejectedly.

"Still, nothing has been confirmed yet. Also, would MonoWither really go through the effort of killing all these people just to pose their bodies in videos that don't even show their faces?"

"Well their goal just seems to be doing everything they can to fuck us up psychologically," Tyler muttered. "I guess you might be right, though. Or well, I  _really_  hope you're right."

"So do I..." Seto glanced at the device and noticed that its screen had gone black. "Huh? What happened to it?" he asked, pressing a few buttons to no avail.

"Maybe... Maybe you need to plug it in again?" Tyler suggested half-heartedly.

Seto unplugged and replugged the cable. The screen lit up to show a full battery and "100%" at the bottom.

"Woah, that was fast," Tyler said.

"Was it?" Seto asked, trying to hide his nervousness.

"Well I don't know, I know batteries nowadays are supposed to charge super quick but I used to use my phone so much that the battery drained really fast and got super slow to charge."

"I see... Well if it's done, I guess there's no point in staying here..." Seto unplugged the device and placed it in his pocket before shutting down the computer.

_CODIE, I hope you found something that was worth it. If MonoWither keeps this up..._

_..._

_...This could be the end of us both..._

**MONOWITHER THEATER**

_**Romeo and Juliet: a despairingly revised ending** _

**Romeo collapsed to the floor, choking up blood, and stared up at her with pathetic puppy-dog eyes. "Juliet, oh Juliet, I took this poison so that I could join you in death! Forgive me, my love, for I-!"**

**To his shock and horror, Juliet laughed. "This is so much more than I ever hoped to wake up to! Thank you Romeo, I knew you would eventually kill off Tybalt and Paris for me, but I never expected you'd be so helpful and off yourself as well! After all, I don't need you anymore. You're just useless to me now."**

**"What...? What are you... talking about...?"**

**"To think I had you in the palm of my hand so easily... I hated having to deal with Paris, but Tybalt was such a nuisance, I wanted him gone as soon as possible, even before Paris. But I couldn't just kill them myself, oh no, that would be far too boring...**

**"...But then fortunately you came along! It was quite entertaining to watch you succumb to my despair so easily, Romeo. After all, I turned you, the beloved son of Montague, into the murderer of two noblemen: first Tybalt and then Paris! I didn't realize you loved me so much that you'd go so far and kill yourself, though, but that just makes it all so much better! I can just see the despair in your eyes! Did you really think I loved you? Oh Romeo, oh Romeo, you truly are a lovesick fool... But at least you served your purpose until the bitter, violent end..."**

**Juliet laughed again as Romeo collapsed to the floor, drawing his last breaths. The betrayed, horrified expression was permanently etched onto his face.**

_**"Well, now that you're gone too... I can finally be free..."** _


	49. Transmogrification

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to personally thank Bo Burnham for his classic song called "Sad" because without it who knows when this chapter would have been finished.

****_Two mysterious people were present in an unknown room. The first person was sitting on a leather chair_   _while the second person stood in front of them._

_"That's all I have to report. Is there anything more you need from me?" the second person asked tentatively._

_The first person stared down at their lap, frowning. "Give me my plan book."_

_"R-Right away!" the second person stammered,_ _running off somewhere, before returning with a notebook._

_"Thank you," the first person said, taking the notebook and fanning through it. They finally stopped at a certain page and stared at it._

_"Um... Is there something wrong?"_

_"...We have to go with Plan B."_

_"P-Plan B?! Are you sure?! I mean it's just a bit-"_

_"Are you questioning me? I made you my spy, not my advisor."_

_"N-No no no- of course not-! I was just-!"_

_"We're starting Plan B tomorrow, is that understood?"_

_"...Yes... I understand..."_

_"Good. We'll see how everyone reacts to it..."_

_The person laughed in anticipation as they shut the book and tossed it carelessly to the side._

_"It's about time this show had some more **fun**..."_

* * *

When Seto woke up, he found himself sprawled ungracefully on top of the bed, his hazy mind feeling as though it had just crawled out of a muddy bog. He blinked slowly, trying to fight the urge to succumb to sleep again, when he caught a glimpse of the clock.

 _It's already past 8?_ Seto thought drowsily as he sat up.  _I can't believe I slept past the morning announcement... Why am I so tired?_

He forced all of those thoughts away when he saw the gaming device on the nightstand. He slowly picked it up and turned on the screen, hoping that CODIE was finished analyzing whatever he had found. He had been unable to activate CODIE since the computer room incident the day before. Would CODIE be ready now?

Seto quickly triggered the password prompt and entered the key. However, nothing happened. Was CODIE still not ready?

Suddenly, a horrible thought crossed his mind as he started to panic. What if some sort of virus had been planted in CODIE during that time? What if that's why he wasn't responding? What if CODIE had been deleted or something? What if-

To his utter relief, CODIE's face showed up. "Hello, Seto!" the AI exclaimed. "I just scanned the perimeter for any recording devices other than the security camera and found none. That means our secret is still safe for now!"

"That's... good?" Seto asked hesitantly. "Except I think MonoWither really suspects something's up with me and this gaming device."

CODIE's face fell. "What? How do you know?"

"They kept bothering me about it all yesterday. They asked me to give the device to them and even tried to take it away from me at some point when I had my back turned..."

CODIE flinched. "Eek! You mean they almost kidnapped me?!"

"Um, I guess so. Then they threw a huge fit when I wouldn't give you up and practically went ballistic!"

"Wh-What did they do?!"

"They tried to bite Tyler when he defended me and then they got a bunch of knives and threw them at us. The whole time they kept screaming about how they were the 'gods of this world' and that everything was under their control, it was really disturbing..."

"That's... troubling..." CODIE said after a few moments of silence. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No, fortunately."

"I guess they really don't want to take any more chances after what Steven, Bart, and Dave did. But do they know about me specifically?"

"No, I don't think so. They know something's suspicious about the device but not you. I pretended that I was still examining the device, so... I guess we're not totally caught?"

"Hmm, it seems that way. But we have to be extra careful. I don't want MonoWither to do to you what they did with Steven and his friends..."

"Y-Yeah, I'll do my best."

"Anyway, I've finished examining some of the files I stole. I was right yesterday; the Puppetmaster uploaded the information that was in those books you mentioned into a cloud. However, the notes also correspond with certain video files."

"Video files?"

"Yeah... Video recordings of some of the experiments the Order of the Ender Dragon did. So far I've analyzed those that took place over a decade ago in relation to a certain project they were working on at the time."

Seto shivered. "Oh... Well, those recordings shouldn't be important, right? I mean, if they're more than a decade old, they're unimportant-"

"Seto, I already knew about Slotty even before this. You don't have to hide it from me."

"...You did?" Seto asked in a faint voice.

"Well, I only just learned about the specific details, but I already knew everyone's secrets even before we met. They were written in the plan book I mentioned."

Seto swallowed nauseously. "I see. At least Steven, Bart, and Dave didn't know..."

"Um... About that..." CODIE laughed nervously.

Seto's eyes widened. "D-Don't tell me-!"

CODIE looked down guiltily. "I apologize if I violated your privacy by telling them. But I promised I would give them any information that might be useful to them, and your secret just couldn't be ignored."

"But- But how can that be-? If they knew about my secret, why didn't they...?" Seto trailed off.

"If you're wondering why they never asked you about it, it would have been suspicious to the Puppetmaster how they found out so randomly..." CODIE said tentatively.

"No, that's not what I meant, I just... I had no idea they knew! They- they didn't act any differently- they pretended so well like I was still their friend and that nothing was wrong with me!"

"What do you mean by 'pretended'?" CODIE asked, confused.

"There's no way they saw me the same way after that!" Seto snapped more harshly than he intended to.

"No, they didn't," CODIE admitted. "They were very confused when I told them."

"I'm sure they were more than just confused..." Seto muttered gloomily.

"But after some thought, it seemed to make sense to them. They apparently already knew you were once part of the Order."

"Wh-What?" Seto asked. "How?!"

CODIE hesitated for a few moments. "This is actually related to what I was planning on showing you today. It has to do with their secret, but I think... I think the three of them would understand why I'd reveal this to you... if they were still here..."

Seto didn't even know what to say as a paused video showed up next to CODIE's face.

"Although the Slotty Project was considered a success, over time it gradually became to be seen as an overall failure. The initial flaws that had existed upon Slotty's creation had grown too cumbersome to ignore. The members eventually decided to dispose of the first servant and create a new one after further research of the soul. They did many experiments to better understand how altering the soul would change an individual's mind, spirit, and body. These experiments were brutal and harmed many people."

CODIE stopped for a few moments. "What I'm about to show contains graphic, disturbing content, Seto, but I believe seeing it would explain everything better. Is it okay if I continue? Or would you like me to describe it myself-"

"I need to see it," Seto replied in a hollow voice. The apprehension that suddenly sprung up inside of him wouldn't go away as his heart pounded in his chest.

"Okay then... If you would like me to stop, please say so immediately." And with that, the video took up the full screen and began to play.

* * *

_The security_ _camera footage displayed a large operating room. In the room, a boy was strapped to a bed and surrounded by hospital machinery and Order members wearing face masks and lab coats. The naked boy was fair-skinned and had dark hair with faint silvery specks. He looked like he was in his early teens._

_The boy whimpered, tugging at the restraints. "Where are my friends?"_

_"Shut up," one of the members replied._

_"P-Please!" the boy begged, starting to sob. "I just need to know if they're okay-"_

_"Your friends are the least of your worries, kid, now shut it," another person mocked._

_"Yeah, what we're about to do to you won't be pretty."_

_Some of them shared a chuckle together._ _The_ _heart monitor started to beep faster._

_"What are you going to do?" the boy asked in a small, trembling voice._

_"You won't like the answer. All I'm gonna say is, you're gonna regret running away from your mommy and daddy with your friends..." a woman said with a sneer._

_Another member stepped in view of the camera, holding a bottle filled with a purple liquid. He passed it to another member who began filling it into an injection needle._

_"Wh-What are you doing?!" the boy asked, panicking as he struggled with pure desperation. The others quickly held him down, although the restraints had barely moved. "No! Don't hurt me! No!!! Please!!! I- I don't want to get hurt- Please-! I didn't do anything to you-!"_

_"Should we put him to sleep?" one of them asked._

_"No, of course not, are you crazy?" the woman who had mocked the boy about having run away from his parents replied. "I'm sick of hearing him complain so much. He deserves whatever painful shit happens to him. Hopefully, he doesn't die immediately like all the others did so he can actually feel it all."_

_"NO!!! NO!!!" the boy screamed repeatedly, shaking his head desperately as he tried to shy as far away from the approaching man with the needle as possible. "STEVEN!!!_ _DAVE_ _!!! HELP!!! HELP ME!!!"_

_The boy disappeared from the view of the camera as all the members surrounded him, although his screams could still be heard. After a few moments, everyone ran out of the room, although Seto was certain they were watching from behind a transparent barrier._

_The boy, now left alone, was sobbing hysterically as he writhed weakly on the bed even though it was too late. Suddenly, the boy's body went rigid and arched upward as though he had been suddenly struck by lightning. He screamed again, this time in tortured pain._

_The video sped up and went mute. Seto watched as a black shade rapidly spread from the injection point in the boy's neck to cover his whole body. As the blackness spread, the boy's body started to transform. The boy's fingers_   _elongated_ _and grew sharp claws. The boy's face mutated until it was barely recognizable. His mouth, still gaping open in a silent but endless scream, grew large black fangs._

_Then_ _the creature's body grew in height, breaking the restraints. The creature thrashed violently, collapsing to the floor as the blackness consumed it completely, before eventually rising to its feet. The video resumed its normal playback speed and had sound again. The creature looked around, confused and disoriented._

_Suddenly, a man was shoved into the room. Judging by his ragged clothes and unkempt demeanor, he was an unfortunate prisoner of the Order. The man backed away in terror but accidentally met the creature's eyes._

_The Enderman bared its fangs, screeching with fury, before charging at the man. The man barely had time to scream before the Enderman dug its claws into his flesh, tearing him apart._

_Everything about the boy, that young and innocent boy, had been transformed into that of a monster..._

* * *

It took Seto a few moments to register that the video had ended. His mind was a wild swirl and his stomach felt like it was twisting in knots. He was far, far more than just horrified and disgusted. Words couldn't express what he felt, nothing could.

The boy's final screams resonated in his mind, over and over again, nonstop.

_"STEVEN!!!_ _DAVE_ _!!! HELP!!! HELP ME!!!"_

CODIE stared up at him, concerned. "Seto?"

"...Was that... Was that Bart...?" Seto asked hoarsely.

CODIE looked away. "When he was still human, yes."

_When he was still human..._

"So... Dave was also human once...?"

"Yes... He was transformed into a zombie... just as Bart was transformed into an Enderman..." CODIE sighed. "According to the notes, Bart was 14 years old while Steven and Dave were only 13 when they were taken by the Order and experimented on. It seems that they ran away from home and were captured afterward."

"Why wasn't Steven transformed, then? Why did he stay human?"

"Steven was the control factor. They used him to test if Bart and Dave's humanity and/or former selves still remained after the transformation. Ultimately, they recognized him in some way so they stopped attacking him, although it was especially difficult for Bart to come around according to the notes. I think the members were even considering making Steven Slotty's replacement, but it fortunately never came to be."

"...And how did they get out?"

"After Slotty killed all the researchers involved in the project a few months later, the three of them managed to escape their cells and leave the underground facility. I don't think they ever went back home, though. They just traveled together."

Seto set the device down on his lap and pressed his hands against his temples, shutting his eyes tightly. Everything was coming together. Everything that had been unusual about those three, it was all making horrible, horrible sense... The way Bart and Dave had acted so humanlike, the understanding Steven had treated them with, Steven's reluctance to talk about how they'd become so close...

Had they known that Slotty was technically the reason for their suffering? Seto felt guilt swarm over him. Once again, more of his friends had suffered in their short lives because of his involvement with the Order. It wasn't even like Mitch and Ashley, no. In this case, Steven, Bart, and Dave had been subjected to this horrible torture  _directly because_  of the Slotty Project...

CODIE whimpered. "I'm- I'm sorry- I know that video was disturbing and I tried to warn you but I still caused you terrible distress-"

"...It's fine. It's not your fault," Seto replied finally. "Thank you... for giving me this information."

"Trust me, there's a good reason why I showed you the video. It wasn't just to tell you about their past. I strongly believe the experiments that were performed on the three also have to do with the Puppetmaster themselves."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know if you know this, but the Slotty Project was only part of the Order's overall goal," CODIE said. "The Order wanted to know how to achieve ultimate power, strength, and even possibly immortality by altering the soul."

"Immortality...?" Seto asked, slightly taken aback. He had always known that the Order had wanted power, but immortality?

"As you know, the Order saw magic as a privilege bestowed upon only the worthy. But they wanted to know how magic could be strengthened at an exponential rate. Ultimately they chose you as their test subject to experiment on, but they had to make this subject completely submissive and obedient to them. Otherwise, they might take advantage of their extreme power and lash out against their creators."

"That's... the real reason why they made Slotty?" Seto asked, stunned. "I thought they just wanted a perfect servant to work for them..."

But the moment those words left his lips, he realized how much more sense CODIE's statement had been. His uncle would have never been so preoccupied with such a superficial goal. No, of course he had created Slotty for a much darker, ulterior reason...

"They must have lied to you, then," CODIE replied. "They made Slotty so that they could see how much they could alter a soul. They chose a child because their results from experiments showed that children's souls were more susceptible to alteration."

"Then... Why did they make Slotty kill all those people?"

"From what I'm interpreting, they also wanted to see how killing someone would alter someone's soul."

Seto paused to mentally compose himself. "And... The results of that experiment?"

"...Seto, you remember when I told you about how the Puppetmaster wanted more 'XP', right?"

"Yeah, I do..."

"Well... According to their studies, killing someone causes them to absorb a vital part of the victim's soul. By absorbing this part, the killer's soul becomes stronger. Since magic is connected to the soul, if a sorcerer kills another living thing, their magic will also grow stronger. And the stronger the soul a victim possesses, the more power the killer's soul is able to absorb."

Seto was silent as he tried to go over all this new information in his head.

"What's most important is what the project researchers called the part of the soul that is absorbed. They called it 'experience' because the concept fundamentally reminded them of experience points, aka 'XP'."

Seto's eyes widened. "S-So... Are you saying that when the Puppetmaster wanted more XP-"

Suddenly, CODIE disappeared and a Ghast Blasters level popped up. The player character died almost immediately, however, and played a 'life lost' jingle.

_"Well, well, well, what do we have here???"_

Seto flinched when he realized that MonoWither was hovering right before him. "What the hell?!"

"And a good morning to you too!" MonoWither said with cheeky smiles. "Looks like you're having  _so much fun_ playing your video game!"

"I was until you showed up," Seto muttered, composing himself.

"This is the second day in a row where you abandoned your former routine of getting up early and eating with the others in favor of playing Ghast Blasters! We truly fear that this will become a full-on addiction if we don't intervene!"

"Just leave me alone!"

Suddenly, the grins disappeared from their faces. "Okay Seto, we're done with the games. Literally and figuratively. You can hand it over peacefully or make us take it from you, your choice."

"I thought we were done with this conversation!" Seto yelled.

"Ooh, getting defensive, are we? Seems a little  _suspicious_!"

"You're the suspicious one! Don't you realize that I now know for sure there has to be something on here you don't want me to find?! I haven't found it yet, but-"

"Hand it over, Seto! Now!" MonoWither started to pull at the device using some sort of magnetic force.

Seto clutched it firmly, pulling it back and refusing to let go. "What are you going to do if I don't give it to you, huh?!" he demanded, struggling to keep it away from them.

MonoWither bared their fangs. "We've killed people for far less rational reasons and we've been ITCHING to get rid of you!"

"And what's everyone else gonna say, huh?" Seto asked, glaring back. "How are you going to explain it if I suddenly die out of nowhere?!"

"We'll just say you broke the rules! Violence against your show hosts MonoWither is prohibited! They'd never be able to prove us wrong!"

"And what will the audience say about that?!"

MonoWither seemed to falter for a bit at that statement before resuming their struggle. "Dramatic irony is always effective! Now just let go of it or we'll-"

Suddenly, they both heard someone knocking on the door.

"Wh-What?!" MonoWither asked in confusion as they stopped tugging at the device. "Who the hell is that?!"

Taking advantage of the distraction, Seto quickly stood up and put on his cloak. "If this little device can stress you out this much, maybe that says something about you..." he muttered under his breath as he walked past them. To his vague surprise, MonoWither didn't snap back with a mocking retort.

Seto placed the device safely in his pocket as he opened the door. "Hey Tyler, I'm okay if that's what you're-..."

Seto's voice quickly trailed off when he realized that no one was standing there.

"Hey Seto, you're not playing any  _tricks_ , are you?" MonoWither asked through gritted teeth.

"N-No! I- I don't know who knocked, I-!"

"Well that's the thing, we don't either! No one was there! So it had to have been you!"

"I was on the bed, which is not close to the door at all!"

"You must have used your magic or something to distract us!" MonoWither snapped.

"No, I didn't. Believe me."

"You've already proven yourself to be untrustworthy! Why should we believe you?!"

Seto sighed as he started walking towards the cafeteria. "I have this gaming device that Dave left behind and suddenly you start acting like I cursed you and all the spirits of your ancestors. You're being ridiculous."

MonoWither made a rather displeased noise as they continued to follow Seto.

When Seto entered the cafeteria, he quickly realized that no one was there. It was clear that they  _had_ been there this morning, judging by the plates left on the table, but there was no sign of them.

"Where could they be?" Seto muttered under his breath. He looked at the clock and his eyes widened. It was already almost 10?

"Hmmm, are you wondering where your so-called friends are?" MonoWither asked jeeringly.

"Shut up," Seto muttered as he left the cafeteria and headed to the stairs. He couldn't think of any reason why they'd still be on the first floor; there was really nothing worthwhile there other than the computer room. Then again, no one liked being there because of a certain person's horrible death...

"What a shame, maybe if you'd stuck to your normal routine you'd know where they went! But it's not our fault you chose to play video games instead of eating a healthy breakfast with your friends!"

"Guys?" Seto called out when he reached the second floor. He looked around, waiting for a response, but got nothing.

"Hey, here's an idea, what if they're all gone somehow?" MonoWither asked gleefully. "What if you're all alone, abandoned, tossed aside, with no one left to love or care about you-"

"Guys!!!" Seto shouted in an attempt to ignore MonoWither as he quickly searched the infirmary and the weight room to no avail.

"Maybe they're hiding from you!" MonoWither taunted. "Maybe they're so scared of you that they can't stand being around you anymore, they're doing everything they can to avoid you at all costs-"

"I told you to shut up!" Seto snapped rather shakily as he ran up to the third floor. "GUYS?!"

"Aw Seto, maybe you should just give up. No one went to check on you this morning, after all, even though it was so late. You know, it's only when you disappear when you realize how little you actually matter to other people-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!!!" Seto shouted, tugging open the door to the music room. To his utter surprise, he saw everyone sitting in front of the stage. They flinched as they turned to face him.

"Seto, what the hell?!" Annie cursed.

"You startled us!" Tyler cried out.

"O-Oh..." Seto mumbled, his face turning red. "Sorry..."

"What took you so long?" Bodil asked.

"Yeah, we were waiting for you!" Jason said.

"Sorry, I couldn't find you guys anywhere..." Seto replied, sitting down next to Tyler.

"What do you mean? Didn't MonoWither tell you?" Bonks asked.

"Tell me what?" Seto asked, confused.

"Whoopsie daisy, it must have slipped our minds!" MonoWither exclaimed with wide grins. "But we must admit, it was quite entertaining to see you frantically searching all over the place! Did you really think everyone abandoned you?"

Seto glared at them as they hovered over to the stage. "Of course not."

"I knew there was a reason why MonoWither insisted no one check on you..." Tyler grumbled.

"So why are we all here?" Seto asked.

"Good question, Seto! You see, we're terribly sorry for our awful behavior yesterday! It was utterly irresponsible and unforgivable! We hope you can forgive us someday!"

Jason raised an eyebrow. "But you just said it was unforgiv-"

MonoWither cleared their throats. "Now then! As our way of making things up to you all, we've decided to take upon enacting today's wonderful entertainment! All you guys have to do is just sit and watch, nothing else!"

"Wow... thanks..." Annie muttered under her breath.

"Um- Is this optional?!" Bodil stammered. "Do we have to watch-"

"OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO WATCH YOU STUPID LITTLE-" MonoWither cleared their throats again. "Unfortunately it's too late for that, Bodil, you should have left before we locked the doors!"

"B-But you told us not to leave-!"

"Come now, don't you all want to just relax for a bit? Just take a little breather, enjoy these filler chapters that aren't exactly filler because of all the foreshadowing and character development that's in them?"

"Wh-What are you going to do exactly?" Bonks asked nervously.

"We're so glad you asked, Bonks! We're going to do a little stand-up comedy performance just for you guys! We really think you're gonna love it! There is one rule though, and that's no heckling! Anyone who heckles will get punished for it!!!"

"Okay, okay, just get it over with!" Seto snapped.

"Will do!"

The lights dimmed as spotlights focused on MonoWither, who disappeared behind red curtains. After a few moments, the curtains opened to reveal MonoWither hovering behind the grand piano, donning three top hats that matched each corresponding head's color.

"Thank you everyone for joining us today! We'd like to get this performance going with a few wonderful songs of our creation!"

"...Great..." Jason mumbled to himself.

MonoWither cleared their throats. "Now then! This first song is called... 'A World in Despair'."

MonoWither closed their eyes before suddenly playing random keys and screaming,  _"AHHH!! AHHHHH!!!"_

Everyone flinched and Tyler groaned. "Are you seriously stealing a song by Bo Burnham-"

"Shh!" Seto warned, not wanting to test MonoWither's "no heckling" rule.

"This next song, it's a little bit longer than that one, and it's about how sad this show is and it's really sad and it's called 'Sad'."

MonoWither started to play a tune on the piano.

"It's about all the sad stuff. Just picture a depressed onion cutting itself. Or Seto. Seto as a depressed onion cutting himself."

Seto cringed.  _Did they really have to go there?_

No sooner had he thought that thought than MonoWither pretended to sob for a bit before singing.

_We_ _met a cheating man named Mitch._ _.._

"Oh god," Tyler moaned, burying his face in his hands.

_...Isn't_ _that terrible?_   
_We saw a flyer for a lost_ _traceur_ _and the guy had broken his legs!_

"H-Hey!" Bodil whimpered as MonoWither hit the keys in a dissonant chord.

_We saw a cancer-afflicted girl_ _..._   
_...slowly_ _freezing!_

"HEY!!!" Now Bodil sounded  _pissed._ Annie quickly shushed Bodil, although she looked like she wanted nothing more than to crush MonoWither to bits as well.

_We saw a_ _mudkip_ _who had a slit neck_ _._   
_That was sad! Jason's tears!_

Jason tried to  _lunge_  for the stage but was held back by Bodil and Bonks.

_We_ _saw a young girl poisoned by a flask,_   
_She didn't see it when it struck her back_ _..._   
_She didn't hear us shout, "LOOK OUT FOR THE_ _FLAAASK_ _!!!"_

MonoWither pounded on the keys intensely before stopping.

_'Cause we didn't say anything._

The melody slowed down again.

_We just thought to ourselves, "Oh this is gonna be sad."_   
_And it was._

MonoWither grinned.

_We're a genius._

Seto prayed the song would be over soon, but MonoWither made more mock-sobbing sounds before they kept on going.

_We saw a bacca with only one sword_ _..._   
_...stabbed through his ribcage,_   
_We saw a little slime hopping to and fro,_   
_UNTIL THEY FOUND THEIR OWNER'S CORPSE!!!_

They slammed a chord on the piano.

_We saw a warden stuck in his grief,_   
_Then the warden jumped off and he hung himself,_   
_We saw a man with a red hat!_

MonoWither cackled to themselves as they continued to play, ignoring everyone's horrified and disgusted reactions to their utter insensitivity.

_We went to B_ _onks_ _hoping that she'd somehow died,_   
_But she'd only drawn portraits of some random guys..._

Bonks covered her face with her hands, clearly not wanting to be mentioned in any way in the song.

_...No, wait! Those were for memoirs!_   
_See what she did there?_   
_LET'S ROCK-!_   
_-No..._

MonoWither went back to a solemn tone.

 _The world's so sad, guys._  
 _Pain, genocide, war, selfishness, avarice._  
 _But we gotta remember there are good things about it too._  
 _Like the fact that all of that's being caused by us! Score!_  
 _Still though, it's hard for you all not to be sad about it._  
 _How did the Order do it?_  
 _I'd been suffering terribly sad things that whole time, they hadn't been sad at all!_  
 _They'd been... They'd been happy, no... they'd been_  laughing!  
 _That's it, laughter, it's the key to everything!_  
 _It's the way to love all the despair in the world!_

MonoWither frowned.

_We mean, not for people who still have hope, but for the people like us who had to fucking deal with despair all the time._

Seto couldn't help but wonder what they meant by that.

_Being a show host isn't being an insensitive prick capitalizing on the most emotional struggles of humanity, it's being a deity!_

MonoWither started to laugh unstably under their breath.

_The world isn't sad... The world's FUNNY! I'M A_ _SOCIOPAAATH_ _!!!_

They played a glissando down the keys as they sang gleefully.

_We saw three close friends get blown up_ _..._   
_...Hey, what fucking idiots!_   
_We saw poor Seto at his first friend's funeral,_   
_Ha ha ha! Classic comedy!_

Seto clenched his hands into fists.

_Everything you'd think is sad just feels so funny now,_   
_The murder trials and executions?_   
_That shit's funny 24/7!_   
_Cause tragedy will be exclusively brought about,_   
_Because my empathy was all taken out..._   
_Goodbye sadness...!_   
_...Hello, show!_

MonoWither played the final notes before finishing on a high note.

No one said anything as MonoWither rose up and flew to the center of the stage before bowing their heads. "Thank you, thank you!!!"

Silence.

"Aw come on, nothing? No applause? Maybe we just stunned you all into silence..."

"That was just horrible!" Jason yelled, still angered by the lines about Husky.

MonoWither laughed. "Of course you would say that, Jason! But don't worry, you'll soon learn to appreciate great humor!"

"You just stole someone else's song and changed up the lyrics to make fun of our dead friends!" Tyler yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What, it's art! By changing the lyrics, we made the song more relatable and fun! Besides, it's not like what's-his-face can do anything about it!"

_"YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM-"_

"Okay, are we done now?" Annie asked, standing up. "We sat through your stupid comedy show, now we can go, right?"

_**"Did we say we were finished yet?"** _

Everyone groaned in exasperation as Annie sat back down.

"You just had to ask!" Bodil complained.

"What more is there?!" Bonks shrieked.

"There's no way you guys can leave without seeing our surprise!" MonoWither exclaimed.

"What surprise?" Seto asked suspiciously.

"Since you're so curious, why don't you help us reveal it!" MonoWither asked, levitating a control button. "Come on Seto, get up here and press the button!"

"It's obviously a trap," Annie said immediately, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"A trap?" MonoWither asked in an offended voice. "No, no, trust us! No one will get hurt, it's just to reveal the surprise!"

"Then why are you asking me to do it for you?" Seto asked.

"Time is ticking, Seto! Just get up here and do it or else things will take a dark turn for everyone!!!"

Seto sighed before standing up.

"Seto, what are you doing?!" Tyler yelped.

"Don't go up there! That's what they want!" Jason shouted.

"I don't exactly have a choice," Seto muttered as he walked up the side steps onto the stage.

"Good, good! Excellent, Seto! You've wisely chosen the honor to reveal the surprise for us!" MonoWither dropped the red button in Seto's hands. "Now... just press the button..."

Seto couldn't stop himself from shaking as he held the button. He looked forward and saw everyone staring at him with dread and apprehension. They wanted nothing more than to help him, but they were powerless.

Seto gulped as he forced a brave face.

_If this is it... I love you all..._

He pressed the button, and the last thing he felt was a blinding pain before everything faded.

* * *

Tyler shrieked as Seto jolted violently (much like how Seth had) and cried out in pain before dropping the button and collapsing to the floor. Without a second thought, Tyler climbed up the stage and rushed to Seto's side.

"Seto? Seto! SETO!!!" Tyler howled desperately, shaking Seto's limp and unresponsive body. His eyes were closed, why weren't they open?! Would it be worse if they were open?! Why wasn't he moving?!

The others were also panicking.

"SETO, NO!!!" Bonks screamed, sobbing in her shock and horror.

"This isn't happening, this isn't real!" Bodil insisted frantically.

 _"Why the hell would you do that to him?!"_  Annie shouted at MonoWither.

"Yeah, why would you kill him?!" Jason demanded tearfully.

"Kill him? Oh no, no, you've got it all wrong!" MonoWither exclaimed. "Seto's not dead, we just gave him a little shock, that's all!"

"Tyler, is he alive?!" Annie demanded.

Tyler quickly placed his ear on Seto's chest, listening desperately for something, anything...

To his pure relief, he heard Seto's heart beating normally.

"Oh- oh thank god- he's alive!!!" Tyler said, laughing hysterically as he scooped him up in his arms and held him tightly to his chest. "He's alive, he's okay, he's alive...!"

"See, what did we tell you? He's perfectly fine! Now Tyler, why don't you just get off the stage and leave him be!" MonoWither advised.

Tyler's relief quickly changed to fury as he clutched Seto even tighter. "No, of course not! I'm not leaving him with you, are you kidding me?!"

"Why would you hurt Seto like that?!" Bonks yelled.

"You lied, you said you wouldn't hurt him!!!" Bodil said.

"Well, well, trust us when we say he barely felt a thing! Now Tyler, there's not much time left before our special guest arrives, so this is your last warning!"

Tyler glared back at them, not moving an inch.

"Who's this 'special guest'?" Annie asked apprehensively.

"Glad you asked, Annie! You'll meet him soon, he should be arriving right about... now!"

Suddenly, Seto's body moved slightly, groaning. Tyler gasped as he looked down at him. "S-Seto?" Tyler asked in a hushed voice, shaking him gently. "You're okay, you're okay, just open your eyes..."

The boy did open his eyes, but they were not the familiar shade of brown that Tyler was used to seeing. No, his eyes had changed to a bright, crimson red.

Tyler stared at him, horrified. "Um, Seto?"

"Seto" frowned at that statement as he tried to push Tyler's arms off of him.

"R-Right, sorry!" Tyler stammered, letting go of him and scooting away. "Sorry, Seto, I was just-"

"Don't call me that," the boy grumbled as he stood up, lowering his hood so that his curly hair was fully exposed. He looked around and scanned the crowd before his eyes settled on MonoWither, who was grinning at him. "Ah, you must be MonoWither!" he said brightly, grinning back. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to meet you!"

"As have we!" MonoWither replied. "We've heard so much about you, so we're very honored to present you as our special guest today!"

"M-Me? A special guest?" the boy asked in pleasant disbelief.

"Of course! Now everyone, say hello to our special guest!"

No one said anything. They could all sense that something was terribly, terribly wrong. After a few tense moments, Jason summoned the courage to speak. "Uh, Seto, are you okay-"

"I said don't call me that!" the boy snapped.

"Wh-Why not?!" Bodil asked, confused.

"Because I hate that name, okay?!"

"Well... what happened to your eyes?" Bonks asked in a timid voice.

"Yeah, they look... different..." Annie said quietly.

"Is- Is it a problem that they're red?" the boy asked, turning to MonoWither.

"No, of course not! They're just confused because they've never met you before!"

"Oh..." 

"Now then, why don't you introduce yourself to them, special guest?"

"Um, okay, I'll try my best!" The boy waved at them cheerfully. "Hello, everyone! My name is Slotty and I'm pleased to finally meet you all!"


	50. At Your Service

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my irl friend (you know who you are (^: ) because she gave me the most awesome gifts and overall she is an amazing friend and I'm glad I met her??? I'm blessed??? Also her favorite character is Slotty and this chapter... ho boi...
> 
> Also, if emotional and physical abuse bothers you greatly, tread with caution, especially towards the latter half...

 

Tyler sat there on the stage, numb with shock, staring up at... whoever this person was. He wasn't Seto, that was for certain. Seto would never lower his hood like that in front of everyone, nor would he speak to everyone like that. This wasn't right at all...

"Now then, why don't you introduce yourself to them, special guest?" MonoWither asked.

_Special..._ _guest_ _...?_

"Um, okay, I'll try my best!" The boy waved at them cheerfully. "Hello, everyone! My name is Slotty and I'm pleased to finally meet you all!"

There was an awkward silence from the others.

"Oh god, the shock must have messed with his brain!" Annie cried out.

"Slotty" flinched at her statement. "Wh-What are you talking about?"

Jason laughed nervously. "Oookay, um, Seto, why don't you come down from the stage and we'll-"

"I said don't call me that!!!" he shouted. "I'm not Seto, I'm Slotty!"

"This is bad!" Bodil stammered out. "This is really really really  _really_ bad!"

"MonoWither, what have you done?!" Bonks shrieked.

This "Slotty" staggered backward, drawing into himself. "Wh-Why are you acting like this?" he asked, whimpering. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Slotty, why don't you tell them who you are! You're a total stranger to them, after all!" MonoWither said encouragingly.

"O-Oh, r-right!" Slotty cleared his throat and placed his arms awkwardly to the side. "I'm Slotty, and I... um..." His voice sank to a low whisper. "Oh no, I said that already..."

"How and why were you created?" MonoWither asked.

"Oh! I was created by my master to be a truly loyal servant!!!" Slotty exclaimed, clasping his hands together and bouncing slightly in his excitement. "Isn't that so amazing?! He made me for this one purpose!!!"

The others continued to stare at him, completely dumbfounded.

"Um- Why aren't you saying anything?" Slotty asked.

"We think they're confused because they don't know how you came to be!" MonoWither replied.

Slotty frowned. "Do they have to know that?"

"Well if you want them to understand you, they have to know that!"

"F-Fine..." Slotty sighed. "I was supposed to be Seto's completely-altered soul, but I'm only half of his soul..."

"See! Doesn't that make so much more sense?" MonoWither asked.

"No!" Bodil shouted fearfully.

"Wh-What exactly is going on?!" Bonks asked.

"I don't know at all..." Jason muttered in reply.

"Do you think this is one of MonoWither's jokes again?" Annie asked them in a hushed voice.

"Agh! They still don't like me!" Slotty cried out. "Why don't you guys like me?!"

"All right Slotty, we'll take it from here!" MonoWither said, flying in front of him. "So remember those secrets from Part 02?"

"Y-Yeah?" Jason asked hesitantly.

"Well this sweet, adorable boy with the cutest red eyes right here is Seto's darkest secret!"

"Who are you talking about?" Slotty asked, confused, before his eyes widened. "N-No way- Do you mean-?!"

"Yes Slotty, we're talking about you!" MonoWither beamed.

Slotty's face blushed red and he looked away. "Y-You're so nice...!"

"You see, remember that Order of the Ender Dragon Mitch and Ashley talked about?" MonoWither asked.

"What about those people?" Annie asked.

"Well guess what, Seto was part of that drug cartel!"

"WHAT?!" Bodil shrieked.

"N-No fucking way..." Jason stammered.

"Seto... was part of a group like that...?" Bonks asked in disbelief.

"Indeed he was! While he was part of them, he did many, many horrible things like kill people, torture people, tear innocent families apart, did we mention  _kill people_ -"

"No, you're lying!!!" Tyler cried out, suddenly finding his voice. "Seto wouldn't- He would  _never_ -! He would never do those things!!! At least not willingly!"

MonoWither turned around to face him, giggling. "Well, we guess you're not entirely wrong about that... Seto was only a young child when he was part of the Order! We believe he was, what, 13 when he managed to leave? No, Seto didn't really do those things, it was  _Slotty_!"

"Yeah, it was me!" Slotty exclaimed, rocking back and forth on his heels in excitement. "I did all those wonderful things for my master!"

"I'm still confused!" Bonks shouted. "H-How can this... Slotty person and Seto be different?!"

"Yeah, they have the same body!" Bodil said.

"Is this some split personality thing?" Jason asked, stunned.

"Well, no, not exactly," MonoWither admitted. "As we just said, Slotty is another half of Seto's soul created artificially. They share the same body, but they have become entirely different characters with different thought processes and feelings. They share the same memories, but not the same emotions!"

"Then how the hell did Seto keep this guy from appearing for so long?!" Annie demanded.

"Well, that's an easy question to answer!" MonoWither said. "You see, studies have shown that Slotty here can only be summoned by an electrical shock of a specific voltage and current!"

"S-So that's why when Seto pressed the button..." Bonks trailed off.

"I showed up!" Slotty replied, jumping ecstatically and waving his arms in the air. "Do you like me now?"

"Uh... Wait, you said that... Slotty killed a lot of people..." Jason said, his face turning pale.

"Y-Yeah, that's... right..." Slotty said hesitantly, drawing back. "I was told to do that..."

"Agh!!! MonoWither summoned him so that he could kill us all!!!" Bodil shrieked.

"W-What-?!" Slotty stammered. "N-No, MonoWither isn't my master- I only listen to my master-!"

"So who is your master then?!" Annie asked.

Slotty stared down at his shoes, wringing his hands. "I-It's not my fault!!!" Slotty shouted, trembling on the spot. "S-Seto killed him, it wasn't me!!!"

MonoWither cleared their throats. "So after awhile, Seto's master, aka his uncle-"

"His  _what?!_ " Bonks shrieked.

"Yeah, you heard us! His uncle, who was the leader of the Order, was forced to admit that their project to turn Seto into the most obedient little servant ever was a failure, so they decided to poison Seto without him knowing to get rid of him!"

"Th-That's horrible..." Jason said quietly.

"Well what they never expected was that their servant wouldn't like that very much! It seemed to be an instinctual reaction! Seto or Slotty broke out of their prison and slaughtered everyone in their path before consuming milk to save themselves! And then afterward he brutally killed his own uncle! Kinda messed up if you ask us, huh?"

"It was in self-defense, though..." Tyler choked out, his mind still swirling with shock.

"Eh, you could argue that! But if you saw the body--or rather, what was  _left_ of the body--you'd think Seto/Slotty really had it out for their master!"

"No!" Slotty cried out, tears streaming down his face. "It wasn't me, I swear! Seto did all that! I couldn't stop it!!!"

"Oh but poor, poor Slotty! Without a master, who is he now?"

Slotty whimpered as he stepped away, bowing his head. "I don't know..."

"He's  _nothing_ , that's what he is... Absolutely nothing... Totally worthless... Even the tiniest, grossest germs in the world have more purpose than Slotty does..."

"Hey, I don't know what you're doing, but stop it!" Bonks shouted.

"Oh?" MonoWither asked, turning to face her. "Are you really having sympathy for a heartless killer? Seto might regret it, but Slotty definitely still associates himself with a horrible group that ruined the lives of Mitch and Ashley, your old friends! By extension, they also caused the deaths of Jerome, Ryan, and Husky!"

"Still..." she said, although admittedly with less conviction than before.

"Well, you said that he was just a kid when he did it..." Annie said slowly.

"Does it really excuse that much? You're just saying that stuff because you haven't seen firsthand what he's capable of!" MonoWither declared.

"Y-You're right, I'm nothing..." Slotty whimpered, sinking to his knees and covering his tear-stained face with his hands. "I really am nothing now... I'm not worth anything anymore... There's no point in me living any longer..."

"W-Woah, hey, that's... uh..." Jason stammered, unsure what to do.

"Don't say those kinds of things! You can't listen to MonoWither!" Bodil exclaimed.

"But they're right!!!" Slotty wailed in anguish. "I'm nothing!!! I'm worthless!!! Useless!!! I couldn't fulfill my master's wishes!!! I'm such a horrible failure, I should just  _die_ right now!!!" To everyone's horror, he started violently beating his head with his fists as he sobbed. "I don't deserve to live at all!!!"

Tyler crawled forward so that he was next to Slotty. "Calm down," he murmured softly, grabbing his wrist to stop him. "It's going to be okay."

Slotty stared at him, stunned to the point where he stopped sobbing. "Wh-What are you doing...?"

If he was honest, Tyler didn't know what he was doing. All he knew was that this... Slotty was hurt, and it wouldn't be right to leave him like that, even though Slotty clearly wasn't all that innocent...

"Tyler's right!" MonoWither exclaimed. "Calm down, now! All is not lost!"

"B-But- I don't have a master anymore- I failed to protect him-"

"We're changing that right now!  _We'll_  be your new master!"

Slotty's eyes widened. "Y-You will?!"

"MonoWither, what the hell?!" Annie shouted, horrified.

"What's the problem?" MonoWither asked, confused.

"That's so messed up!" Jason yelled.

"No it's not!" MonoWither retorted.

"You can't just make yourself someone's master!" Bonks insisted.

"Yeah, that's just wrong!" Bodil agreed.

"Look, you don't understand him! You think he thinks the same way you do! That's the problem with all human beings, they think everyone fits the same mindset they have! Slotty is totally happy having a master, isn't he?"

Slotty suddenly burst into tears again, wrenching his arm from Tyler's grasp.

"S-See?" Jason said. "He's clearly unhappy-"

 _"THANK YOU!!!"_ Slotty cried out.

Annie's eyes widened. "What?"

Slotty giggled and sobbed at the same time, gazing up at MonoWither with adoration. "I- I can't believe it-! You really want me to be your servant?"

"Of course!" MonoWither said proudly. "You're the perfect servant we've been waiting for!"

"P-Perfect... did you just call me perfect?" Slotty asked in disbelief. "B-But doesn't me being a part of Seto upset you?"

"Aw man, that's not your fault! It was out of your control! We don't blame you for that! We think you're  _perfect_ just the way you are!"

Tyler had never seen anyone look as happy, thrilled, and  _ecstatic_  as Slotty in that moment. He reminded Tyler of a puppy who had just been given all the best treats and toys in the world. If Slotty really were a puppy, he would probably be wagging his tail back and forth and jumping up and down with excitement. The whole thing... sickened him.

"Y-You said it again! You called me perfect! I've- I've never been called that before- Oh, I must be dreaming, this can't be real-! Master, I promise I won't let you down! I'll do anything you ask with total perfection, I promise!"

"You know, we've also decided to make you a new participant of this show!" MonoWither said. "But the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Servant is such a boring title... You know what, we'll make you the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Slaughterer!!!"

"Ah! I'm a participant! And I have my own title!!! This can't be real, is this a dream? Please tell me I'm not just dreaming!" Slotty turned to Tyler with the widest grin he had ever seen, but it quickly faded when he saw the look on Tyler's face. "Um... what's wrong?" he asked, looking at the crowd before him. They too shared the same disgusted and horrified expression as Tyler.

"Don't worry about them, Slotty!" MonoWither advised. "They're just jealous because their titles aren't as interesting as yours!"

"Aw, no need to be jealous! Being a drama actor isn't that bad!" To Tyler's confusion, Slotty gripped his wrist for a few seconds and said, "It's going to be okay!" before letting go.

"That's not why we're upset and you know that, MonoWither..." Jason muttered.

"Anyway, this is the end of our performance!" MonoWither said. "The doors are unlocked now and you are free to do whatever you please!"

"W-Wait, what about Seto?" Bonks asked.

"Is he gone forever?!" Bodil shrieked.

Slotty frowned. "Why do you care about someone like  _Seto_?"

"Of course Seto's not gone forever, he'll be back eventually! Give him, oh, one or two hours?" MonoWither estimated.

"Hours?!" Jason echoed.

"I can't believe it's going to take that long..." Annie muttered.

"H-Hey, I'm one of you now!" Slotty stammered. "Don't you guys like me?!"

"Anyway, what's the point of talking about someone who's not here?" MonoWither asked. "Come on, why don't you get to know our special guest a little better?"

Everyone except Tyler looked at each other uneasily. Tyler, on the other hand, couldn't stop wondering if he was just having a nightmare.

_But if this is a nightmare... Why_ _does_ _this explain so much about Seto...?_

* * *

The awkwardness in the air was so palpable, Tyler swore he would go mad unless someone said something. Unfortunately, everyone was dead silent as they walked down the steps to the second floor, except for Slotty. Slotty was humming to himself as he trailed behind them, energetically bobbing with each step.

"So... Slotty..." Tyler said, clearing his throat.

"Yeah?" Slotty asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Uh... What do you like to do for fun...?"

"Oh! Whatever Master tells me to do, of course!" Slotty replied, giggling to himself.

"That's not really an answer," Jason admitted.

"Well then, what do you guys like to do for fun?" Slotty asked, glaring at them. "Isn't it obeying your master?"

"We don't  _have_ a master," Bodil replied.

"Wh-WHAT?!" Slotty shrieked, stopping in his tracks on the second floor right next to the pool. "Wh-What do you mean you don't have a master?!"

Everyone else stopped as well, turning back to face him.

"Um... We just don't..." Bonks murmured, laughing nervously.

"B-But- But I thought my master was your master!"

"I'd die before I call that stupid machine my  _master_ ," Annie replied darkly.

"Hey! Don't you dare insult my master!" Slotty shouted angrily.

"I wouldn't be so loyal to them if I were you! I don't know if you know this, but your 'master' or whatever trapped us all in here and made our friends kill each other!" Annie warned.

"I know! I have Seto's memories, after all! But that doesn't really matter to me; if Master wants it to happen, it must happen!"

"You can't trust them," Jason muttered. "They'll say anything to get you to believe one thing, and then trick you for 'despair'."

"If that's what Master wants, then I'll gladly fall into despair!" Slotty replied proudly.

"You're really serious about that?" Bodil asked fearfully.

"Of course! I can't question my master!" Slotty retorted. "Anyway, so if you guys don't have masters, does that mean you're masters yourselves?"

"N-No!" Bonks cried out. "We aren't the masters of anything!"

"Really? You don't have any servants?" Slotty asked skeptically.

"Normal people don't have servants..." Tyler said hesitantly. "That's like a medieval thing..."

"That's not true! I've seen Seto's memories, servants are around all the time!" Slotty snapped.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Annie asked, confused.

"You know! Sometimes Seto goes to something called an 'ice cream shop' and there's a servant there who gives him ice cream!"

Jason laughed. "That's not a servant, that's a worker! They get paid to do that!"

"So? I get paid too!"

"You do?" Bodil asked.

"Yes! I get paid with  _Master's satisfaction_!" Slotty said almost smugly.

"No, we're talking about money," Bonks corrected. "Workers get paid with money. You don't."

"Well when Master is proud of me, I feel like I'm the richest person in the world! Who cares about money or whatever?"

"You... You really care about what your master wants, don't you..." Tyler said quietly.

"Of course! If Master isn't proud of me, I've totally failed my purpose in this world! Might as well just kill myself at that point, you know?" Slotty laughed at that, but everyone else flinched and stared at him with horror.

"How can you just say that?" Bodil asked, his face pale.

"Say what?"

"How can you just talk about killing yourself so casually?" Bonks asked. "It's not right..."

"Don't you guys wonder what's left for you if you don't fulfill your purpose in this world?" Slotty asked, confused.

"Yeah well... Killing yourself isn't the way..." Jason replied.

"Yeah, there's always another day to make things right," Tyler murmured.

"Well what about Ryan?" Slotty snapped.

Bonks let out a horrified shriek and everyone stiffened in shock.

"I mean, Ryan was Mitch's servant, right? He tried to keep Mitch alive but he failed. Because he failed, he lost all purpose in life, and the only thing left for him was to kill himself, which was definitely the right thing to do-"

Without warning, Annie lunged forward, grabbed Slotty, and forcefully shoved him into the nearby pool. Slotty yelped as he plunged into the water with a loud splash.

"Annie!!!" Tyler screamed.

"He deserved it," she hissed, glaring down at Slotty as he flailed about in the water.

"I mean I don't blame you, but does he know how to swim?!" Bonks asked frantically.

"I thought Seto said at one point that he could use magic instead of swimming..." Annie said, her face paling as she realized her mistake.

Tyler watched in horror as Slotty thrashed desperately, struggling to keep his head above the surface.

"HE'S DROWNING!" Bodil shrieked, looking around wildly. "What do we do?!"

Jason quickly grabbed a nearby shepherd's crook. "Move out of the way!" he ordered everyone else, who stepped back so that they wouldn't get hit by the pole. "Grab onto it!!!" he shouted, holding out the hook to Slotty.

Slotty managed to grab the hook and Jason pulled him to the edge of the pool before lying down on the ground and clutching Slotty's hand. Jason then tugged him out of the water and onto the deck.

Slotty hunched over the floor as he coughed up water, his chest heaving as he purged his lungs of the liquid.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked, placing a hand on his back.

Slotty stopped coughing and nodded before collapsing on the ground, breathing heavily.

"That was close!" Bodil said, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, way too close..." Tyler murmured.

Annie didn't say anything as she grabbed a towel and draped it over Slotty's back.

"Luckily Jason was here to save him!" Bonks said in relief.

"Yeah, but I hope this is the last time I'm going to need to use my old lifeguarding skills..." Jason muttered. "At least you're all right."

"Th... Thank you..." Slotty rasped, sitting up and clutching the towel while shivering.

"It was nothing," Jason replied. "But we need to do something about your throat..."

* * *

_15 minutes later..._

Slotty sat in the cafeteria and meekly sipped the dandelion tea that Bodil had brewed for him. Tyler noticed with relief that some color had returned to his cheeks and he had stopped shivering.

"Are you feeling better Se- I mean, Slotty?" Jason asked.

Slotty nodded slightly.

"That's good..." Annie replied hesitantly. She looked somewhat guilty but still hadn't apologized verbally.

Tyler cleared his throat. "I thought Seto's cloak regulated his temperature."

Slotty frowned and took another sip. "It does. For him, at least."

"Why doesn't it work for you?"

Slotty sighed. "It has to do with his magic. The cloak uses the wearer's magic to regulate the wearer's temperature."

"Do you not have magic?" Bodil asked, perplexed.

"Shut up!" Slotty snapped.

"Hey, there's no need for that kind of attitude," Jason scolded.

"Yeah, the rest of us don't have magic either," Annie said.

"I have magic-!" Slotty insisted. "I just- I just need a staff to channel it, that's all!"

"Seto doesn't need a staff-" Tyler started to say before Slotty kicked him in the shin. "OW!"

"Slotty!" Annie shouted angrily.

Slotty flinched as though he had touched a burning flame. "Wh-What are you gonna do, throw me into the pool again?" Slotty retorted. "Master won't like that, I'm sure-! P-Plus- if I die- you're gonna get executed-! So don't you dare throw me into the pool again-! You'll regret it, I- I promise you w-!"

"Tyler was just curious about why you need a staff, that's all," Jason said exasperatedly.

Tyler stared at Slotty, wondering if he had been using an angered tone to mask another one...

Slotty grumbled, relaxing a little. "My soul is... weaker... so my control over my magic is also weaker... I technically can use magic without a staff, but it would be like trying to use a weapon with a blindfold on..."

"Oh, I see..." Bodil replied. "It's like... what is it called? A hit or miss?"

"Yeah, like that," Slotty said moodily. "Go ahead, make fun of me all you want."

"...We're not going to do that..." Jason said finally, staring at him with concern.

Tyler grimaced as he rubbed his aching leg. Slotty may be a different half of Seto's soul or whatever MonoWither had described it, but he was definitely not like Seto at all. The only things he seemed to share thus far were Seto's stubbornness (multiplied by 100), his apparent self-worth issues, and... his isolation... 

It was then that Tyler realized that although they were all technically sitting together, Slotty was at the edge of his own separate table. Bonks would have been sitting with them too, had she not been with Jerry at the memorial table.

"What's Jerry doing?" Slotty asked, staring at the two as he lowered his now-empty mug.

No one wanted to answer that question.

"A-Are you guys mad at me again?" Slotty asked, his voice trembling a little. "Remember what I said about trying to drown me-"

"They miss Jordan," Bonks replied sadly. "They won't stop looking at the drawing I made for him..."

Slotty got out of his seat and walked toward the memorial table. Tyler noticed Annie tense up as he approached Bonks and Jerry.

"Woah, Seto's memories were right!" Slotty exclaimed. "You really are a great artist!"

"Um... Thanks, I guess..." Bonks said uncomfortably.

"Can you teach me how to draw like that?"

"I... I don't know..."

"It really looks like Jordan's playing the piano-"

 _"Well, well, well, how's_ _everyone_ _doing?"_ MonoWither asked, hovering into view.

Slotty leaped to attention, his eyes lighting up. "Master, you're here!"

"Yes, yes, how's our favorite servant doing?" MonoWither asked.

Slotty's face went red. "F-Favorite?! Oh- Master- you're too kind, I haven't even done anything for you yet-!"

"Our first order for you will be to take this well-deserved compliment!"

Slotty had been reduced to a flustered, blubbering mess. "Th-Thank you Master- Thank you-! I will take the compliment if it makes you happy!!!"

MonoWither giggled. "You are just  _so_ adorable! You're like a little puppy! We wish we could just squeeze your cheeks and gobble you up for dinner!"

Tyler wondered why MonoWither was being so nice (in their twisted way). He knew it couldn't be for a benevolent reason...

"Well, don't you guys think so?" MonoWither asked, turning to the rest.

They all looked repulsed and disgusted.

"Hey, what's wrong with you guys? Why don't you like Slotty? You even tried to drown him! That's so cold-hearted..."

"You know I didn't mean to do that!" Annie snapped.

"But you've all been so painfully apprehensive around him when he's done nothing wrong to you!"

"N-Now that he listens to you, who knows what you'll make him do!" Bodil stammered accusingly.

"I still think what you're doing to him is incredibly fucked up..." Jason murmured.

MonoWither gasped loudly. "Jason! Language! And how dare you imply that! We're just looking out for Slotty's mental well-being!"

"Yeah, right," Tyler muttered.

"As if you really care about him!" Bonks yelled.

Slotty tensed up. "Why are you being so mean to Master?!"

"As we said before, they're just jealous! They're meaningless compared to you. They're neither servants nor masters. They just exist for no reason; unlike you, my adorable one!"

"You're so smart, Master!" Slotty beamed. "But it's not too late for you all! You can be like me and serve such a kind and caring master, who is all that's good in this world and deserves nothing but the best-"

 _"THEY KILLED OUR FRIENDS!!!"_ Jason suddenly shrieked, jumping to his feet and kicking out the chair behind him. Everyone flinched, not expecting the sudden outburst. "THEY KILLED ALL OUR FRIENDS! THEY KILLED SO MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE! THEY KILLED  _HUSKY_! SO- SO DON'T YOU  _DARE_ SAY THEY'RE GOOD, THEY'RE HORRIBLE- AND AWFUL- AND- AND-!" Jason raised a shaking fist in the air, which was clenched so tightly that Tyler could clearly see his white knuckles, before letting it drop limply to his side. He sat down, breathing heavily, and stared at his lap with wide, glistening eyes.

"But... Ashley killed Husky, right?" Slotty asked, confused. "And Master executed Ashley as punishment... They avenged his death! So you can't blame Master..."

"Yeah well your 'master' was also the one who gave the motive," Annie muttered.

"That's Ashley's fault for taking it then! Plus, why do you care so much about your so-called 'friends'? You guys don't know what real friendship is!"

"Shut up!!!" Bodil shouted, riled up by the comment about Ashley. "I think you're the one who doesn't know anything about friendship!"

Slotty glared at him but said nothing.

"This debate is veeery interesting..." MonoWither said. "...However, the entertainment's not cutting it for us!"

Without warning, MonoWither lunged forward and shoved all the picture frames off the memorial table again. Bonks shrieked and Jerry leaped onto the now-empty table (besides the torches), bouncing around frantically in search of Jordan's portrait.

"Whoops! Looks like we made a huge mess! Slotty, be a dear and clean it up for us quickly, will you?"

"Right away, Master!" Slotty replied, immediately diving to the floor and collecting all the frames he could find.

"Oh! You don't have to- oh no- please be careful with them-!" Bonks stammered desperately, right before Slotty dumped an armful of picture frames onto the table. "Ah! I said be careful-!"

"Good job, Slotty!" MonoWither praised. "Now set up the memorial!"

"No no no- I can do it-!" Bonks quickly started to set the memorial up again, but Slotty helped her anyway.

"All done!" Slotty exclaimed with a grin after a few moments. "Are you pleased, Master?"

"Definitely! You did an excellent job!"

"Thank you so much! I'm so glad I could please you! I hope I can become the perfect servant!"

"...The perfect servant...?" MonoWither asked, their tone dropping. Tyler felt cold dread immediately set in. He knew that when MonoWither used that tone, bad, horrible things would happen...

"Y-Yeah!" Slotty replied.

"You really think you can be a  _perfect_  servant?"

"W-Well... As perfect as possible... I don't know if I can be totally perfect-"

"So you were lying to us?"

Slotty backtracked. "No! No no no! Of course not- I wasn't lying! I can be perfect if I try hard enough-"

"Oh? We'll see about that..." MonoWither grinned and Slotty gulped. "All right, pat your head and rub your stomach in a circle at the same time!"

Slotty struggled for a few moments before finally doing what he was told. "I'm doing it!"

"Good, good, now rub your stomach counterclockwise!"

Slotty fumbled again before doing that as well.

"Now jump up and down while doing it."

Slotty did as he was told. After a few moments, he started to pant from the effort.

MonoWither burst into laughter. "You look so funny! This is just hilarious!"

"S-Stop it!" Bodil cried out, voicing what everyone wanted to say. "You're just bullying him!"

"No we're not, we're letting him prove his worth!"

Slotty's jumps started to falter until he was barely lifting his feet above the ground.

"Uh uh uh, that doesn't look like jumping!" MonoWither chided, compelling Slotty to jump higher again. His breathing was now frantic gasps for air.

"Hey, he almost drowned earlier! He needs his rest!" Jason shouted.

"Not our problem!"

Slotty struggled to keep going, but Tyler could tell how exhausted he was. It was truly painful to watch.

Finally, after ten more seconds, MonoWither had mercy. "All right, all right, you can stop!"

Slotty groaned as he stopped, clutching onto the table for support. His legs wobbled like jelly and his breath was winded.

"Now then... Take a seat!"

Slotty didn't need to be ordered twice for that.

"And now we order you... to lick your elbow."

Slotty's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh come on, you know that's practically impossible for most people!" Annie shouted.

"If he wants to be a perfect servant, he has to do what we say!"

"Slotty, you don't have to listen to them-" Jason began, but Slotty ignored him as he lifted his elbow and craned his neck, sticking his tongue out as far as he could as he strained desperately.

"MonoWither, stop it! Please! This is just cruel!!!" Bonks pleaded, tears actually springing to her eyes as she watched Slotty struggle like his entire life depended on it.

MonoWither said nothing. Their grins only widened further as they watched Slotty, who was still trying his hardest to complete the given task...

Tyler couldn't take it anymore. "Slotty, stop it. It's impossible," he said as gently as he could.

Slotty shook his head as he continued to try. He was crying now, whimpering softly.

"Slotty, it's okay," Tyler said, placing his hand on Slotty's back. "There's no point in trying like this. You're just hurting yourself."

"Tyler's right," MonoWither said finally. "Okay Slotty, stop."

Slotty hesitated for a few moments before slowly lowering his arm and biting his lip. His body started to shudder, as he was on the verge of sobs. Tyler rubbed his back in an attempt to comfort him.

"We guess you couldn't be the perfect servant like you said you could," MonoWither said in a disappointed voice. "What a shame..."

Slotty breathed shakily as he started to hyperventilate. "I- I- I can do it- I promise, just- just let me try some more and I can do it someday, I promise-! I promise I can be perfect like you said I was earlier-!"

"Oh Slotty, us calling you perfect and you actually being perfect are two different things!" MonoWither said. "Unfortunately, there's no way you can really be perfect. You have your limits, your flaws, your incapabilities..."

Slotty cringed and shut his eyes tightly, wringing his hands and digging his fingernails into them. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry- Please don't give up on me- I promise I can still be good for you just please don't get rid of me-!"

"Get rid of you?!" MonoWither laughed, their tone shifting into a lighthearted one once again. "Come on, Slotty! You know us! Why would we get rid of you for such a minor thing!"

"H-Huh?"

"No need to fret, we were trying to show you that it's okay to have limitations!"

Slotty stared down at his lap. "You... You think it's okay...? But servants have to carry out their orders flawlessly-"

"Oh you poor little thing, what has the Order done to you?" MonoWither asked in horror as they flew in front of his face. "Of course it's okay! We don't expect you to be perfect like those people did! That would be totally unreasonable! So no need to cry, sweetie... Master understands you unlike everybody else..." MonoWither opened their mouths and a little claw holding a tissue reached out of the middle mouth and started to gently wipe away Slotty's tears.

Slotty sniffled, looking up and smiling at the robot. "You do...?"

"Of course we do! We truly value you! As long as you try your best, you'll always be  _perfect_  in our eyes..."

"Th-Thank you! Thank you so much! You're always so nice... Master..."

Tyler once again felt sick to his stomach as he watched this scene unfold. This was all so wrong, so horribly toxic and manipulative, but he had no idea what he could do about it...

"Why do you all look like you've swallowed rotten milk and watched every dog in the world get kicked?" MonoWither asked with confusion.

"You're really sick, you know that?!" Bodil shouted angrily.

"What?! We're being so nice to Slotty, nicer than his previous master ever was!"

"No you're not, you're just manipulating him!" Bonks retorted.

"If you were really being nice to him, you wouldn't treat him like a servant!" Annie said.

"But that's what he was made to be!" MonoWither countered. "He was created to be a servant! We can't possibly change that! Haven't you read  _Harry Potter_? Those house elves were perfectly happy working for their masters because that's what they were!"

"Dobby wasn't," Tyler said. "He wanted to be a free elf and work for a salary."

"Yeah well, Dobby was a weird one!" MonoWither snapped. "The Malfoys abused him into thinking like that! Besides, in the last book, he ends up-"

"The house elves are fictional creatures, that's not a valid comparison!" Jason said with a groan. "Slotty is a human being and you aren't treating him like one!"

"Slotty, don't you think they're just being ridiculous?" MonoWither asked with a roll of their eyes. "They say we're mistreating you!"

Slotty laughed. "That's stupid! Master is the nicest person ever! To me, at least! If they've been mean to you, that's because you didn't listen to them!"

Tyler cringed. How many "nice" people had Slotty ever interacted with in his life?

"Maybe they need some nice, refreshing drinks!" MonoWither said cheerily. "Go ahead, Slotty, why don't you get them all glasses of water!"

Bodil coughed. "Um- It's okay, we don't need any-"

"Of course!" Slotty exclaimed, standing up and rushing to the kitchen. "Be right baaack!!!"

"Ugh!" Annie groaned, slumping over on the table. "When is Seto coming back?!"

"Um... I think it's been a little more than an hour?" Jason asked, confused.

"So it shouldn't be too long..." Bonks said hopefully.

"Should we just leave? I hate how MonoWither's making us be a part of this!" Annie snapped.

"I think Slotty would make sure we got water anyway..." Bodil pointed out.

"Yeah, we shouldn't make his job harder than it is," Jason said reluctantly.

"His reaction to failure really scares me..." Bonks admitted.

Tyler glanced at the kitchen, unable to help but feel worried about Slotty just like everyone else was. He knew that Slotty had done many horrible things in the past, but at the same time... Slotty really seemed like a child who had just been led down the wrong path by the adults in his life...

...And MonoWither would surely continue pushing Slotty that path if they didn't do something about it...

"Okay, I'm back!" Slotty exclaimed, carrying a tray with five glasses of water. "I got water for everyone- AH!"

Suddenly, Slotty tripped and sent the tray careening forward. All the glasses toppled over and shattered on the floor, spilling water everywhere.

Tyler ran over to his side. "Are you okay?!" he asked, horrified, but Slotty didn't seem to hear him as he knelt on the floor, staring at the mess in front of him.

"N-No- No, I- I-" he stammered almost incoherently as he started to tremble.

"What happened there, Slotty?" MonoWither asked. "Why did you trip like that?"

"I don't know-!" Slotty shrieked, looking up at MonoWither with wild eyes. "I'm- I'm sorry- It was an accident-! I didn't mean to-!"

"Accident it may be, but unavoidable it was not... We're so sorry, Slotty, but we're afraid we're going to have to  _punish_  you for making such a mess!"

Slotty looked like the entire world had collapsed before him. "I'm sorry!!!" he shrieked, shielding his head with his arms instinctively.

"Punish?!" Bodil exclaimed.

"For something that minor?! You're crazy!" Jason yelled.

"He didn't break any of your stupid rules!" Annie snapped.

"Oh no, not  _that_ kind ofpunishment obviously!" MonoWither said, laughing. "Don't be stupid!  We just need to give him some hard discipline, that's all! Although it does pain us to do this... It really does..."

For some reason, Tyler felt like MonoWither had caused Slotty to trip somehow, but he knew he couldn't prove it.

"I'M SORRY!!!" Slotty screamed, collapsing forward and kneeling face down in front of MonoWither. "I'M SORRY, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!"

"We will Slotty, we will! After this punishment, all will be forgiven!"

"Wh-What are you going to do to him?" Bonks asked with dread.

"Well as a Wither, we can't do anything personally, so... Tyler!"

Tyler, who had been trying to pick Slotty up from his bowing position, looked up. "What?"

"Why don't you hit Slotty for us!"

Slotty's reaction was immediate as he scrambled desperately away from Tyler before shielding his face again with his arms. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!!!"

"Don't hurt you? But you know mistakes have to be punished!" MonoWither reprimanded.

Slotty sobbed hysterically, bringing his knees to his chest. "I know- I know, just-! Just let me try again-! I promise I can do it right-! I'll even clean up the whole mess just please don't hurt me-!"

"Okay Tyler, just give him a slap across the face and that's it. No more than one! We know you were considering it!"

"I was  _not_!!!" Tyler shouted, utterly disgusted. "And I'm not going to hit him!"

"Come on Tyler, we know you want to! Don't you remember what he said about Ryan and your other friends?"

"I don't care about that right now!" Tyler retorted as he crawled over to Slotty, who tried to back away before Tyler gently grasped his raised arm to stop him. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you..."

Slotty shook his head as he shied away from Tyler, terrified beyond belief. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry- I'm really really sorry-!" he repeated.

"I know you are, it's okay," Tyler said, wrapping his arms around Slotty to embrace him. "You didn't do anything wrong..."

Slotty continued to sob into Tyler's shoulder inconsolably, trembling like a leaf in the wind.

"Ugh, Tyler! He'll stop crying once his punishment is over! Just hit him once and he'll feel better!"

"You can't make me hurt him," Tyler replied, glaring at the machine as he rubbed Slotty's back.

MonoWither suddenly grinned. "Oh Tyler... Of course you wouldn't hit Slotty... Is it because he reminds you of Seto...?"

"No, it's not. I don't care who he looks like or whatever," Tyler said angrily. "It wouldn't be right to hit him in any case. Slotty is a different person from Seto."

"Yes, that's correct! Slotty is different from Seto!"

"What are you trying to say?" Annie asked suspiciously.

"It seems that all of you sympathize with Slotty to some degree. How naive! All of you are ignorant of his true nature! If you weren't, you'd be singing a different tune right now!"

"Look, we all know he killed people, okay? You don't have to remind us all the time!" Jason complained.

"But we must! After all, you all know the consequences of trusting too easily..." MonoWither chuckled. "Okay Slotty, you can stop crying! We won't hurt you!"

Slotty looked up slightly, peeking hesitantly from beneath the crook of Tyler's neck. "Y-You won't-?"

"No, it hurts us too much to see you upset like that! But in return, we ask that you carry out this task for us!"

Slotty wrestled his way out of Tyler's embrace and crawled over to them on all fours. "Oh thank you, thank you, Master! You're too kind! What do you want me to do?! I'll do it perfectly for you to make up for everything, I swear!"

"Good, good, that's the excitement we want to hear! Now wait here..." MonoWither flew over to the kitchen and returned with a long magical staff clutched horizontally in the middle head's jaw. The staff was made out of iron and had a miniature Ender Dragon crystal levitating at the top of it.

MonoWither dropped the staff in front of Slotty, who reached for it hesitantly. "Is this... for me...?"

"Yes, it is!" MonoWither exclaimed. "You may be a little out of practice, but we're sure you'll be able to carry out this simple task!"

Slotty grabbed the staff, staring at it with awe, before hugging it ecstatically. "Yes! Yes I will! What do you want me to do?!"

MonoWither's red eyes gleamed.

_"Kill Jerry."_

Bonks let out a shriek of horror as she held Jerry to her chest and tried to flee the cafeteria, but Slotty was faster. Wielding the staff like it was second-nature, Slotty pointed it at Bonks and a red aura surrounded her as she was lifted into the air and shaken like a ragdoll. Despite everything, Bonks refused to let go of Jerry.

"NO!" Bonks screamed, hunching over to protect Jerry regardless. "DON'T YOU DARE HURT THEM!!!"

Annie suddenly tackled Slotty to the ground with a yell, forcing Slotty to drop Bonks. Jason and Bodil immediately rushed to her side and tried to help her flee with Jerry.

Annie struggled to pin Slotty down and strike his face, but Slotty formed a shield around him that sent her flying back. Slotty jumped to his feet and ran towards the fleeing group, raising the staff again. Jason and Bodil yelped as they were forcefully raised in the air and tossed away from Bonks, who only had time to turn around in confusion before Slotty caught up to her.

Slotty raised the staff threateningly. "Give up Jerry or I'll hurt you!"

"No! I'll never let you kill them!" Bonks shouted back, shielding Jerry with her arms. She knew it was pointless to run, however. "What did Jerry ever do to you?! They're an innocent baby creature!"

"Doesn't matter! Master wants me to kill them, and I will! I just don't want you to get hurt!"

Slotty tried to magically pull Jerry from her grasp, but she pulled back as hard as she could. 

"If you want to kill them, you'll have to get through me!"

"Slotty, I know you're better than this! You don't have to kill them!" Tyler pleaded. 

"Of course I do! Master ordered me to, and I promised I would carry out their order!" Slotty shouted back.

"...So it was  _you_...!" Annie suddenly said as she stood up, making everyone except Slotty turn to face her.

"What was me?" Slotty asked, confused.

"You...  _You_ were the one who blew up the Nether Portal!" Annie shouted. "Your magic is red and Seto's is purple! So it wasn't him like I thought, it was you!"

"Slotty, is this true?" Jason asked, horrified.

Slotty laughed. "Of course it was me!"

Bodil gasped. "But I thought you could only be summoned by-"

"Seto was so weak from the gas by then; it wasn't easy, but I managed to take control just in time and blow it up! He thought the MonoGhast did it, but he couldn't have been more wrong!"

"But why would you do something like that?!" Tyler asked in disbelief.

"Why? I was just returning the favor!" Slotty replied angrily. "Seto ruined my life forever, so I decided to ruin his and prevent him and his friends from escaping! You guys would have done the same thing if you were in my shoes!"

"Oh Slotty!" MonoWither exclaimed in surprise. "You really did that?! Why didn't you say so sooner! There's no need to kill Jerry anymore!"

"Really?!" Slotty asked, letting go of Jerry and making Bonks fall backward.

"Yes, really! You rescued this show from certain disaster, so your earlier mistake has been forgiven!"

Slotty's eyes brightened. "It- It has?! Oh Master, thank you so much for your kindness! I promise I'll do anything for you, I..." Slotty's grip on the staff started to waver as his eyes turned half-lidded. "I..." The staff slipped from his grasp and clattered to the floor as his eyes rolled back in his head.

Tyler instinctively rushed forward to catch Slotty as his legs gave way and he collapsed limply. He sat him down on a chair and felt for a pulse before sighing, relieved to see that he was just unconscious.

"Do you think... Seto's coming back...?" Bodil asked slowly, not wanting to jinx it.

"He must be," Annie muttered. "Finally."

Bonks hesitantly approached them, still holding Jerry in her arms. "Will he remember what happened?"

"If he does, I wonder how he's going to react," Jason said quietly.

"Oh, he's waking up!" Bodil said.

Sure enough, Seto groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, which were brown once again. Everyone sighed in relief and stepped closer to him.

"Seto, are you okay?" Tyler asked nervously.

Seto blinked in confusion. "Wh... What... happened..." Suddenly, his eyes widened and he jolted in his seat. "Oh god- Oh no!"

"Seto, it's okay!" Tyler tried to say, but Seto wasn't listening.

Seto jumped to his feet and pushed through the crowd. "No no no- No, this isn't happening!" Seto shrieked, moving towards the exit.

Tyler knew Seto well enough to tell that he was about to run away to his own room again. "Seto, wait! We just want to talk to you!" he shouted, grabbing his arm to stop him.

Seto stared back at him with horror, his face pale with shock and dread. "I- I'm sorry, I- I didn't mean for this to happen!" Seto stammered frantically, trying to pull away. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Seto, calm down! It's okay!" Bonks said.

Seto stared down at Jerry in her arms and panicked even more. "No! It's not okay! Let go of me!"

Jason tried to help. "We're not mad, if that's what you're worried about-"

"Just leave me alone!!!" Seto wailed, tears streaming down his face.

Annie and Bodil looked at each other, unsure what to say to calm Seto down.

Tyler found himself remembering the day when Seto had made him that Invisibility Potion and how he had panicked after MonoWither mentioned his secret...

_"So... I'm guessing this has to do with the worst secret thing."_

_Seto nodded slightly._

_"...Any reason why you just can't say it?" Tyler asked._

_"...It's like MonoWither said... You wouldn't see me the same way..." Seto said with a hollow voice._

Now everything made sense... Too much sense...

"Come on Seto, relax and take deep breaths. We're your friends, you can trust us! We're here for you, no matter what!" Tyler said, forcing a smile.

"But I hurt you guys... And now you know everything... Everything about me that I didn't want you guys to find out about..." Seto whispered brokenly before shaking his head and wrenching his arm from Tyler's grip. "No- I have to go- I'm so sorry everyone, I just- I have to go! I can't stay here! You're all better off without me!!!"

"Seto,  _wait_!" Tyler shouted, reaching out to him, but it was too late. All he could do was watch as once again Seto fled the room, leaving everyone else behind.


	51. Love and Trust

_"Daddy? I know you don't like talking about Mommy, but... How did you and Mommy meet?"_

_"Seto, I said this just yesterday. I'll tell you when you're older."_

_"But I_ am  _older now! A day older!"_

_"..."_

_"It's just... I just really wanna know what she was like... Sorry, Daddy..."_

_"Well, I guess you're right. You_ are  _older now. So I'll... tell you a simpler version..."_

_"Yay! You're finally gonna tell me about Mommy!!!"_

_"Now, now, settle down. Your mother and I worked at the same place."_

_"Oh, that really awesome science lab?"_

_"...Yeah. The science lab. Only it wasn't very, um, 'awesome'."_

_"It wasn't?"_

_"No, it was run by... evil scientists."_

_"N-No! Evil scientists? Like Frankenstein?"_

_"Yeah, like Frankenstein."_

_"But why would you work with evil scientists?"_

_"I... I didn't... know they were evil..."_

_"Oh no, they tricked you into doing evil things?! That's horrible!"_

_"A-Anyway, your mother and I used to work together before we found out the scientists were evil. That should answer your question, right?"_

_"But what was she like?! I wanna know what she was like!"_

_"Oh, well, that's an easy question to answer. She was the bravest, kindest, and the most determined person I ever knew. She was so smart, too. She could solve any mystery, I was sure of it. When there was something she didn't get, she would try her hardest to figure it out. You... remind me of her sometimes..."_

_"R-Really?"_

_"Yes._ _You even look a little bit like her, too. You have her freckles and curly hair."_

_"Oh..."_

_"Is that all you wanted to know?"_

_"Um... I guess..."_

_"I don't understand why you keep asking questions about her lately... Did something happen?"_

_"S-Sorry, I just- It's almost Valentine's Day and everyone's talking about love and stuff and I don't know how I'll ever find my soulmate! There are too many people in the world and I don't get how-"_

_"Woah, woah, slow down! You're just a little boy, why are you worrying about this?! You won't be getting into any relationships anytime soon!"_

_"But what if I never do?! All the adults say that only a soulmate can complete you-"_

_"That's just poetic nonsense. You're your own person. You shouldn't need a 'soulmate' to 'complete you'. And there's never only one person in the whole world who can be compatible with you."_

_"Then what's the point? I don't get this adult stuff! How do you know if someone loves you?!"_

_"..."_

_"Daddy?"_

_"...Well... To be honest, I never understood why your mother loved me. But I know that_ _when someone loves you, they accept who you are, flaws and all. They see the best in you and remember it even at your worst. They put your needs before theirs when they can. They want you to be happy and safe. They do their best to keep their promises and protect you. And most importantly... they trust you even when you don't believe in yourself. Do you get it?"_

_"I... I think I do..."_

_"...Good. Please don't forget it... Please..."_

_"...Daddy...?"_

_"..."_

_"...Daddy, why are you crying...?"_

* * *

Seto laid on the bed, tapping mindlessly at the gaming device. For once he was actually playing Ghast Blasters normally without talking to CODIE, despite the bonus level prompt appearing several times.

The secret was finally out. His friends finally knew the truth about him and his horrible actions in the past. They had actually met  _him_ face-to-face. And  _he_ had hurt them during that time. He couldn't feel what Slotty had felt when he had attacked the others, but Seto could still recall the way Slotty had carelessly tossed them aside, all for the sake of killing Jerry.

Not only that, but Slotty had proudly confessed to destroying the Nether Portal that could have saved Tyler and possibly Annie. Seto had essentially allowed Slotty to take control, and by doing that, he had doomed Tyler and Annie from being rescued.

How could Seto ever face the others after this? How?! It seemed impossible. They couldn't possibly trust him now. They had only just begun to trust him again after the previous trial, and surely all of this would have shattered their already fragile faith in him. Admittedly, they had claimed otherwise, but Seto knew that they were simply confused and bewildered. Surely by now they had recollected their thoughts and realized Seto's fault in this whole ordeal...

Seto sniffled as he half-heartedly wiped tears from his eyes. He didn't have a right to feel upset. It had only been a matter of time before they would have found out somehow. And despite how much he had wanted to keep the secret locked away forever, they were his friends (or at least had been until now) and deserved to know the truth about him. They deserved to know how much Seto had lied... what unforgivable sins he had committed...

 _It's Slotty's fault,_ a part of him tried to say.  _If only that monster never existed..._

But another part of him wouldn't let go of the guilt and shame. If only Seto himself had never existed...

His vision was so blurred, he could only tell he had lost a life in the game due to the resulting tune. Seto tried to blink the tears away, but they quickly spilled from his eyes and streamed down his face anyway. He lowered the device onto his chest, which was starting to heave due to his hitched sobs that he was ultimately failing to suppress.

_"Seto, calm down! It's okay!"_

_"We're not mad, if that's what you're worried about."_

Seto choked out a lost cry as he turned to the side and curled up in a fetal position. Had his friends been telling the truth? What if they had just been saying that out of selfless kindness? They had even comforted  _Slotty_ of all people, despite knowing what a horrible and untrustworthy thing Slotty was. They were too good for him... He had known all this time that he had never deserved them...

_"Come on Seto, relax and take deep breaths. We're your friends, you can trust us! We're here for you, no matter what!"_

Seto found the irony truly painful. Just a few days ago, he had been slightly prepared to tell Tyler everything. He had trusted Tyler then... trusted that Tyler would see him the same way as before... Why was this so different? MonoWither had revealed the secret to everyone before Seto could, true, and they had even met Slotty in person. But... did he dare hope that his friends would still trust him...?

Seto wiped his eyes again as he raised the device, which once again had the bonus level prompt. He hesitated for a few moments before finally pressing yes and inputting the password.

CODIE's face appeared on the screen. "Hi, Seto! How are you- AHHH!!!" CODIE shrieked in horror. "Wh-What happened-? Seto?! What's wrong?! You clearly look upset!"

"Upset" was a giant understatement. Seto looked away, feeling foolish that he was even ashamed to tell an AI, an AI who already knew his secret no less, what had happened.

"Did someone die?!" CODIE demanded. "No no no- Please don't tell me someone died!"

Seto weakly cleared his throat. "N-No... no one died..."

"Oh good! That's very, very good! Wait, no! I meant 'good' as in 'good that no one died'! Not- you know-! But why are you crying?!"

"...MonoWither revealed Slotty to the others... They literally shocked me so that Slotty would appear..."

CODIE's eyes widened. "Oh no... Seto, I'm so sorry they revealed your secret like that... To be honest, I had a horrible feeling this was what the 'reveal' motive meant..."

"Yeah. It went just about as well as you would think. MonoWither made themselves Slotty's master. , and then they ordered Slotty to kill Jerry."

CODIE let out a small squeak. "I thought you said no one died!"

"MonoWither changed their minds, but Slotty still hurt the others while trying to kill Jerry... Not badly, but he still hurt them." Seto cringed at the memory. "Not only that, but remember when we almost escaped? I thought one of the robots had blown up the Nether Portal, but it turned out that Slotty was the one who did it because he hated me that much. It's all my fault I couldn't save Tyler! Annie could have been saved too!"

"Wait, but- You said Slotty blew it up-"

"That means it's my fault! Everything Slotty does, I hold some responsibility because I share the same fucking body with that... that  _thing_!" Seto breathed heavily, realizing a bit too late how loudly he had been yelling. "S-Sorry, I just- It's my fault the Hope Organization members died for nothing. And now that everyone knows, they'll probably avoid me forever... It's for a good reason, you know..."

"...If you don't mind me asking, how exactly do the others feel about it?" CODIE asked timidly.

"...I don't know..."

"Well, how did they react? What exactly happened when Slotty was with them?"

Seto sighed. "They were really, really confused, even after MonoWither explained. I think they felt bad for Slotty at first because they kept trying to defend him from MonoWither. Then Slotty said some stupid thing about Ryan's death and Annie shoved him in the pool and almost drowned him. Jason saved him though. Then MonoWither started ordering Slotty to do some weird stuff before giving him a magic staff and telling him to kill Jerry. Everyone tried to protect Jerry, but Slotty used his magic to toss them aside. Bonks wouldn't give Jerry up and Annie realized that Slotty was the one who blew the portal up. MonoWither decided to spare Jerry and... then I came back."

"...And then?"

"What do you mean 'and then'?"

"What happened after you came back? Surely they talked to you a bit?"

Seto looked away. "I guess they tried to calm me down, but I was a coward like always. I always run away from my problems even when everyone else already knows about them."

"Well if they tried to calm you down, that... that means they weren't mad at you, right?" CODIE said with a reassuring smile that didn't quite reach his ears.

"...They were just being nice. If they could even be nice to Slotty of all people, that doesn't mean anything."

"Well what about Steven, Bart, and Dave! They still treated you the same! They even trusted you enough to pass me on to you!"

Seto didn't reply.

"Don't you trust your friends?" CODIE asked quietly.

"Yeah I do, but- but they definitely shouldn't trust me. I... I'm only going to hurt them in the end..."

"Okay, Seto. Then I guess you should pass me on to someone else."

"Wh-What?!"

"You said it yourself, right? They shouldn't trust you. So Steven shouldn't have trusted me with you. Therefore, you should give me to someone else."

"Well- Well I-"

"You're not going to do it?"

"Yes! I mean no! I mean-"

"Steven trusted you for a reason and he already knew about Slotty. I may just be an AI, but I think you should trust his judgment. You know Steven's past, he wouldn't trust others easily."

Seto stared miserably at the screen. "I still don't understand why he trusted me with you. I don't know how I could help."

"But you already have, Seto!" CODIE exclaimed. "Remember? You protected me from MonoWither and got me access to the cloud! Even now, I'm still processing the information and learning more about the situation! So don't feel so bad! I trust you! Your friends still trust you! Trust me on this!"

Seto stared down at his lap, reflecting on the AI's words. "...Thank you, CODIE. That's... what I needed to hear..." 

CODIE's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful! I'm so glad I could help!"

Seto found himself smiling shakily at the AI.

"In fact, speaking of information from the cloud, that's what I was going to talk to you about!"

"Why, did you find something?" Seto asked.

"Yeah, I found more information about what the original show was supposed to be like!"

"Oh..."

"Mhmm, it wasn't even fully approved yet by the studio. It seems that the idea was still being pitched before... a terrible accident happened."

"A terrible accident?" Seto felt his heart sink.

"More than a year ago, a horrible disease was suddenly spread in the filming area of Diamond Broadcasting Station, infecting everyone there and killing quite a few people. It was so bad, health officials of the area decided to quarantine the place for an indefinite period of time until the disease could be dealt with."

Seto's face paled. "Wait, how does that make sense?! We all went to the broadcasting station to discuss contracts and stuff just a few weeks ago! How could we have done that if it was quarantined?!"

"Well... That's the part that doesn't make sense. After all, we are all trapped in the very same broadcasting station that was supposed to be quarantined. The location coordinates are the same."

"We- We aren't going to be infected by this disease, are we?!"

"At this point, I doubt it. I suspect the disease was all a ruse formed by the Puppetmaster."

"...Are you saying that they faked the presence of an airborne disease... just so the area could be quarantined?!" Seto exclaimed, horrified.

"It would be the perfect place to hide something. No one wants to enter a place that's quarantined because of a disease. Not even government officials."

"How did no one hear about this?! Wouldn't it be all over the news? An entire broadcasting station succumbing to a disease and the whole area being quarantined..."

"That, I have no idea. It can only be solved when we have more information. For now, I also found the original cast of the reality TV show that was planned."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the list involves some of your friends. Specifically: Barney, Bodil, Brice, Deadlox, Husky, Ian, Jason, Jerome, Kyle, Max, Mitch, Ross, Sky, Shelby, Steven, and Tyler."

"But... that doesn't make any sense..." Seto whispered. "How come so many of us aren't on that list?"

"Yeah, and a lot of people who  _were_ mentioned here aren't part of this thing..." CODIE said. "The people who were planned to be cast for the show and ended up in this killing game are Bodil, Husky, Jason, Jerome, Mitch, Sky, Steven, and Tyler." 

"That's half of them..." Seto murmured.

"This might be further proof of my earlier statement. The participants of this were chosen based on the celebrities Jade liked. The Puppetmaster, who had a grudge against Jade, did this on purpose."

"...What the hell does this all mean?" Seto asked aloud in bewilderment. However, he never got an answer to that question since CODIE suddenly disappeared and replaced the screen image with the game.

 _"Hello, Seto!"_ MonoWither exclaimed, appearing before him.

Seto didn't say anything. However, he didn't even have the strength to glare at them like he normally would have.

"Aww, did we interrupt something?" MonoWither lamented. "Looks like you were having another one of your crying sessions! Gosh, you do like to lock yourself up in your room and cry on the bed... That's kind of emo, don't you think? 'Waaah, no one understands us!' Hey, you even have a dark, evil, murderous side! You're totally emo!"

"What do you want?" Seto asked gloomily.

"Eh, we don't know. We guess we're just curious about your thoughts on what just happened!"

"What do you want to do with Slotty? Why would you reveal him like that?"

"Ooh, a good question Seto! As expected of the protagonist! You see, we've been waiting a very long time for this reveal!"

"...Why?"

"Why? Well, we guess you could say that this is the fifth motive..."

"Don't tell me you're going to shock me so that Slotty will appear and then tell him to kill someone."

"No, we wouldn't shock you!!! That would be cheating!"

"So are you going to give everyone else methods of shocking me or something?"

"Well we  _were_ considering that at some point but no... We'll just see what kind of despair this brings and how everyone reacts to that despair..." MonoWither laughed. "But we did tell everyone that there are Tasers in the shop!"

"You do realize that I would know about it if Slotty killed somebody."

"But would you tell the truth?"

"Of course I would, what kind of q-"

"How do the others know that?"

Seto gulped, unable to reply.

MonoWither cackled. "Exactly! This is the true despair behind this motive! Have fun getting framed for murder!!!"

"It won't work," Seto said quietly. "We've all seen too much. Too many of our friends have died already. We're not killing anyone else at this point."

"Well would you like us to change the motive to, oh we don't know, filling the building with a toxic gas until someone dies?!"

"...No."

"Then quit your yapping! We're gonna have our fun whether you like it or not!!!"

"Go ahead..." Seto sighed and closed his eyes. "We'll see what 'fun' this brings you."

"Geez, you sound so down right now!" MonoWither complained.

"What, isn't that what you wanted?"

"Well  _yes_ but it totally sucks how easily you lost all your protagonist aura just because we revealed Slotty! Before you would be yelling at us and telling us to go away! That, or you would be sobbing in despair and lamenting over how no one in the world could ever love someone as horrible as you-"

"Fine then. Go away."

"No, no, no! You sound so empty inside! We demand a retake! More anger! Passion! Fire!"

"I don't care." Seto turned away from MonoWither and closed his eyes. "I'm tired of listening to you. So I'm just going to ignore you until you go away."

"F-Fine! Be that way! We can't wait to get rid of you somehow and replace your role with Tyler! It's only a matter of time!!!"

Seto was about to ask why MonoWither had mentioned Tyler, but he was too spiteful to break his vow of ignoring MonoWither. Knowing them, they had probably only said Tyler's name to get a reaction out of him.

"Hmph! We'll see how silent you'll be when you're  _dying_!"

Seto remained silent.

"Grrrh!!! You're so annoying!" MonoWither growled under their breath before finally disappearing.

Seto waited for a few moments before pulling out the gaming device again and inputting the password. However, nothing happened. Seto assumed it was just CODIE checking to see if MonoWither was still listening somehow, but when a few minutes passed by with no response, he started to worry.

 _Why isn't CODIE showing up? Did something go wrong?_ Seto wondered nervously as he continued playing the game.  _What happened to CODIE?_

He was surprised to find himself concerned not only about losing everyone's single chance of solving this mystery, but also about CODIE himself. Over the past few days, he had grown... attached to the AI. It probably wasn't a good idea to be attached to a computer program, but he just reminded Seto so much of Seth with his tentative but bright optimism and eagerness to help others whenever possible. Surely something couldn't have happened to CODIE?

Finally, after 10 more minutes, CODIE appeared on the screen. However, Seto's face paled when he saw the horrified and scared look on CODIE's face. "What happened?!" he asked.

CODIE didn't respond.

"CODIE? What's wrong? Why do you look like that?!"

CODIE cringed and looked away, but still kept silent.

"CODIE, say something! What happened?!"

His voice was small and unsteady. "S-Seth... My creator... what was he like when he was still alive?"

Seto's eyes widened. "Why are you asking that?"

"He was... a good person... right...? Seth... wouldn't do anything to hurt his friends... right...?"

"...CODIE, why are you acting so weird? You're scaring me..." Seto said shakily, his heart starting to beat harder with dread.

"Please, just answer the question."

"Y-Yes, he was a good person... He always tried to help others as best as he could..."

CODIE paused. "Then I guess this won't make any sense to you either..."

"What are you talking about?"

"While you and MonoWither were talking, I decided to analyze the rest of the data I downloaded from the cloud. I found this video file, so I watched it, but then... Um... Oh dear, I should probably show you... Just don't freak out too much, okay?" A video popped up on the screen and started to play.

* * *

_The video was security camera footage of a dimly lit room, but it was showing a place that Seto had never seen before. A hooded figure wearing a white cloak was sitting in front of a table that was placed against a wall. Seto could see blueprints, drawings, and diagrams on the wall overlooking the table, but the screen was too small for him to see exactly what they were for. Despite how the stranger's hood was blocking their face from the side view of the camera, they were clearly immersed in their work as they picked up variously sized nuts and bolts with their gloved hands and stared at them carefully._

_Suddenly, the door to the room opened slowly. Seto gasped in surprise when he saw Jordan of all people cautiously enter. He was wearing a worn backpack and holding a cellphone in his hand, but he dropped the device the moment he saw the hooded person._

_"...Seth...?" Jordan asked in a soft, trembling voice._

_The hooded person went still. A clinking sound filled the air as they let a bolt slip from their fingers onto the table._

_Jordan started to laugh under his breath in disbelief. "...Seth, it's you! I finally found you after all these months!" he whispered. "Why did you disappear like that? You scared the shit out of me! I thought you got kidnapped or something when you left that weird message about 'going off to work on a secret project' all of a sudden and never talked to me about it before leaving!"_

_Seto couldn't help but wonder what the hell Jordan was talking about._

_The hooded person didn't respond._

_"...Seth, why aren't you saying anything?" Jordan asked. "Actually you know what, no. We're getting out of here. You know this place is under quarantine, right? We could be exposed to something right now! Or, well, it's probably just a way to hide whatever you're doing, isn't it..."_

_"...You shouldn't be here..." Seto felt chills run up and down his spine when he heard Seth's voice coming from the man. His voice sounded so hoarse, weary, and... dead._

_"Yeah- I know- You're working on some secret project or something, but I don't care! This place just screams danger, don't you know?! And why aren't you acting like you normally do?! They- They did something to you, didn't they?! Whoever's behind all this?!"_

_"Get out," Seth hissed, still not facing Jordan._

_"I'm not leaving until you give me a proper explanation! I was worried sick about you, don't you realize that?!_ _I've been searched for you this whole damn time! Who says goodbye to their boyfriend through a text message and disappears for months without saying anything else?!!!"_

Boyfriend? When had that happened? Had Jordan and Seth kept that a secret from everyone else?

_"All this time I was so scared, no, TERRIFIED that you were hurt or dead! So I need an explanation!"_

_"I can't tell you anything," Seth murmured softly._

_"Wh-Why?!" Jordan asked, bewildered._

_"Just go. Now. I don't want to see you or talk to you ever again."_

_"Wait, but-"_

_"Do what I said. Go away and leave this place forever. Before I make you leave."_

_"S-Seth, why are you... why...?" Jordan whispered, his face filled with pain._

_"You won't leave if I ask you to, will you."_

_"Of course not!"_

_"Do you trust me, Jordan?"_

_"What are you-"_

_"Do you still love me? Even after everything I've done?"_

_"Of- Of course I do! I always will! I'm just really worried about you, I want you to be safe, and I don't think you're safe here at all..."_

_Seth bowed his head as his body started to shake._

_"S-Seth, what's wrong?" Jordan asked, slowly approaching him. "Please, just talk to me... You can talk to me about anything... I'll always be here for you no matter what you do-"_

_Seth suddenly started to giggle hysterically, forcing Jordan to stop in confusion. "You... You actually still love me...? And to think I thought I'd already gone through the worst despair possible... No, this truly is the worst despair anyone can experience... This whole thing is just filled with despair..." He started to laugh even more unstably._ _"Even with my creations, I'll only be able to spread a mere fraction of this despair to our friends and the rest of this meaningless, **hopeless** world that can't possibly be saved!!!"_

_"Seth... You're seriously creeping me out..." Jordan whispered shakily._ _"I don't understand what you're saying, this isn't like you at all..."_

_Seth stopped laughing._   _"If you love me, then trust me when I say that if you stay still... it'll hurt less."_

_Before Jordan could react, Seth grabbed an iron wrench from the table, leapt up from his seat, and swung the wrench at Jordan's head like a club. Jordan somehow managed to step back and shield the blow with a raised arm, but he screamed in pain as his wrist was shattered with a sickening crunch._

_Jordan staggered away from Seth, clutching his broken wrist and whimpering._ _"Seth, what are you doing?!" he shrieked, dodging another violent swipe of the wrench._

_"I TOLD YOU TO STAY STILL!!!" Seth screamed, his hood falling from his head to reveal his crazed, deranged expression and unkempt hair. The only color present on his pallid face was the dark spots beneath his exhausted eyes. Seth lunged at Jordan with the wrench again and again with a clear intent to_ kill.  _Jordan managed to back away and dodge the blows_   _until he was cornered against the wall. Tears streamed from Jordan's face as he stared at Seth in pain and disbelief before shutting his eyes tightly, waiting for the final blow..._

_Seth swung the wrench at Jordan's head again, but suddenly someone wearing a black cloak and a white smiling harlequin mask ran into the room and grabbed Seth from behind, pulling him away. Seth screamed incoherently as he flailed about, trying to hit the assailant with the wrench, but the stranger covered Seth's mouth with a gloved hand and muffled his yells. There appeared to be a cloth in the stranger's hand, and Seth's struggles and sounds quickly died down as he went limp, his eyes closed, and he dropped the wrench. The stranger carefully placed Seth's body on the ground._

_"Seth!!!" Jordan shrieked in horror, staggering towards the unconscious man despite having just been attacked by him._

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

 _Seto immediately recognized MonoWither's voice in the recording. A third person donning the same white smiling mask but wearing a cloak that was half-black and half-white entered the room_.  _Their hood_ _was distinct, for it had three bent cones at the top with white cloth balls at the end, mimicking a jester hat._

_Jordan used his uninjured arm to reach into his backpack and grab a small dagger. "Who are you?! What have you done to Seth?!" he demanded, wielding the blade with a trembling, unsteady grip._

_The third person laughed like MonoWither. "Oh, that doesn't matter Jordan! He's just become one of us now, that's all! What really matters is that you've finally arrived, so welcome to the show!"_

* * *

It took Seto a few moments to realize that the footage had ended and CODIE had returned. He felt like he was in a horrible, twisted dream. No matter how hard he tried to process what he had just seen, his mind refused to accept it as reality.

"I have already reached the only logical interpretation of this video, and yet..." CODIE hesitated. "...and yet I find it difficult to believe."

"...This makes no sense..." Seto whispered. "Seth... wasn't like that at all... And he would have never hurt Jordan like that... Plus, Jordan and Seth acted so normally when they were here... They couldn't have ignored something like this happening between them... I don't remember Seth disappearing for months... This has to be fake..."

"The footage... is not fake," CODIE said reluctantly. "The voices and faces are shown too much for it to be fake."

Seto heard CODIE's words, but did not understand them. "...What...?"

"There were blueprints, drawings, and diagrams on the wall. All of them... were for building MonoWither."

Seto didn't respond.

"There are three cloaked people in the video. One of them is Seth, the other seems to be the Puppetmaster, and the third is unknown. Judging from their clothes and behavior, I can only reach one conclusion. Despite the pain of it all, I cannot hide from the truth any longer. That would be a direct violation of my purpose, which is to collect and examine all possible data relating to this situation and provide a logical conclusion. I know you are still in denial, but all of my current evidence points to this result..."

CODIE hesitated before continuing.

_"Seth was a member of the Three Despairs."_

"N-No- That can't be right!" Seto yelled, finally finding his voice. "Seth was our friend, he would never-!"

"I'm sorry Seto, I don't want to believe my creator did this either, but-"

"Why would the Puppetmaster kill Seth if he was working with them?!"

CODIE went silent. "I don't have enough information to explain."

"There's no way that could have been faked, he was  _dead_! He died in my arms! I felt him die!" Seto shrieked wildly.

"He could have been betrayed-"

"No, it can't be real, Seth would never be part of the Three Despairs! He would never put us in this situation! I refuse to believe it! You don't want to believe it either, right?"

"Hiding from the truth is pointless!!!" CODIE shouted, stunning Seto into silence. "No matter how painful it is, the truth must be accepted! I want to believe in my creator, but I have to accept the facts that I have!"

Seto shut his eyes tightly, unable to stop himself from thinking about those times he had spent with Seth in the past. After they had first met at Jason's concert, they had become good friends; perhaps not as close as Seth had been with Jordan, but still good friends. Seto had found Seth to be a caring, helpful, and supportive person, not just with his gadgets and inventions. Had those times they'd spent together... all been lies...?

"I know Seth can't have created me for despair. I know what purpose he gave me," CODIE said quietly. "He created me to help you all escape this place. I don't know why he would work with the Puppetmaster, but I doubt it was of his own free will. My existence should be proof of that."

"I just... don't understand what's going on..." Seto whispered, still in shock.

"I don't either, Seto. But I want to understand everything. That's why... I've made my decision."

"Huh?"

"I'm going to do whatever it takes to get the information I need, even if the risk of getting caught is high. But since I can't do this alone, I need your help. You want answers too, right?"

"...Yes. More than ever."

"Then will you help me get to the upper floors?"

Seto felt his heart skip a beat.

"I know it's a lot to ask of you, and I won't blame you if you say no, but if we use the secret passageway, we might be able to pull it off. It's up to you, though. If we get caught..." CODIE shuddered. "It could mean the end of both of us."

"It would mean the end of you," Seto murmured. "The official rules say I'm allowed to explore the filming area. MonoWither would definitely get rid of you, but... MonoWither just said we weren't allowed up there. Doesn't mean they can punish me for it."

"But you saw what MonoWither did with Steven and his friends!" CODIE exclaimed. "They could still get you killed somehow!"

"I thought you wanted me to help you."

"Well- Of course- It's just that you have to understand all the risks-!"

"Could they be worse than all of us staying here forever while MonoWither continues to have their way with us?" Seto countered.

CODIE didn't reply.

"I'll help you, of course. But we need a cover-up story, or else MonoWither will definitely get suspicious when I disappear for awhile."

"Oh... You're right, if MonoWither finds out you aren't anywhere in the first three floors nor the resort, they'll know you're somewhere you're not supposed to be..." CODIE murmured.

Seto nodded. "Fortunately, I know just the person who can help us..."

* * *

20 minutes later, someone knocked on Seto's door. Seto took a deep breath before leaving the bed and opening the door slowly. He sighed in relief and opened the door wider when he saw who it was.

"Come in," Seto murmured, moving aside to let Tyler enter before shutting the door behind him.

"Um... so..." Tyler said nervously. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Seto glanced at the camera briefly. "I just thought you'd want an apology for what happened..."

Tyler waved his hands wildly in front of him. "Oh- Oh no, Seto, it's totally okay- It wasn't your fault- Woah!"

Without warning, Seto grabbed Tyler's wrist and pulled him into the bathroom.

"S-Seto!!!" Tyler stammered awkwardly. "What are you doing?!"

Seto put a finger to his lips before whispering. "What I'm about to tell you needs to be kept a secret from MonoWither. The bathrooms don't have cameras, so we have to talk here."

"Oh- okay, then..." Tyler mumbled. 

"Hold on..." Seto shut his eyes before casting a spell that covered the walls and the door in a purple light. "There, that should keep MonoWither from hearing us outside the door."

"That's good, so... what's the big secret?"

"...I know... I know I'm not a very trustworthy person..." Seto began hesitantly. 

"No, Seto, that's not true!" Tyler said. 

Seto shook his head and looked away, ashamed. "I lied to everyone this whole time, for so long, about something so important and unforgivable about me... And that  _thing_ ended up hurting you all and preventing you from escaping... just because I couldn't control him..." Seto felt himself getting choked up suddenly and he had to pause. His breath hitched repeatedly in his throat as he tried to continue. "S-So- if you don't want to do this for me because you don't trust me anymore, I- I understand..."

Tyler suddenly reached forward and placed his hands on Seto's shoulders. "Listen to me," he murmured, drawing his face close to Seto's.

"Huh?"

"Seto... I promise I'll always trust you, no matter what."

Seto was too stunned to speak.

"Even though you lied, you lied for a completely understandable reason. To have that kind of secret on your chest for so long... I don't know how you did it. But I get why you wouldn't want us to find out. I might have done the same in your shoes. No, scratch that, I definitely would have."

"Doesn't it freak you out?" Seto asked, temporarily forgetting his original reason for bringing Tyler here. "I... I'm a  _killer_. I've killed so many people... hurt so many people... Aren't you afraid I'll do the same to you?"

" _You'll_ do the same, or Slotty?" Tyler asked.

"...What's the difference between us?"

Tyler laughed sharply. "Slotty seems to see a difference; I think that says everything. I know you've probably blamed yourself this whole time for what Slotty and the Order did, but I don't think it was your fault at all. Everyone else thinks the same. Annie's still a bit, um, bitter about the whole portal thing, but she blames Slotty for that, not you. We're all still here for you, trust me."

"...Did you really mean what you said...? When you promised you'd trust me?" Seto asked softly, filled with disbelief.

"Of course I did. Why would I make a promise I wasn't planning on keeping?" Tyler asked.

Seto stared at him in shock, almost positive he was lying, but he couldn't see any sign of it. "...I don't know what to say, I... I don't understand why at all, but... Thank you. It just seems like you're always there for me..."

"It's really nothing, Seto, it's just the truth. But anyway, what were you going to say?" Tyler asked, letting go of him.

"Well... You're probably not going to like it at all."

"...Please don't tell me you're going to put your life in danger again."

Seto went silent.

_"Seto!"_

"...I'm sorry, but I have to. It's for everyone's sake-"

"No! I'm not losing you too!" Tyler shouted, horrified. "C-Come on, we can just stay here peacefully, right? Until that Hope Organization group rescues us somehow, I don't know-"

"What if they never do?"

"It's better than us dying, isn't it?"

Seto shook his head. "MonoWither won't stop until they're tired of us or most of us are dead."

"You don't know that!"

"I'm not taking that chance, Tyler. I don't want MonoWither and whoever's controlling them to get what they want. They've killed so many of our friends already! I won't let them have their way anymore. I won't let them toy around with us anymore. Don't you agree that we have to at least try?"

Tyler looked like he wanted nothing more than to object, but he only sighed. "There's no way I can convince you otherwise, huh? I know better than to talk sense into you at this point. Well... What do you need me to do?"

_"HEY!!!"_

Seto and Tyler cringed when they heard MonoWither outside the bathroom.

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING IN THERE?! YOU'D BETTER NOT BE DOING RATED R STUFF IN THERE WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION!!! WE'D CHECK IN PERSON BUT WE'D RATHER NOT TAKE THE RISK OF SEEING SOMEONE'S PRIVATES, YOU KNOW!!! STILL, IF YOU GUYS DON'T COME OUT IN A MINUTE WE'RE BARGING IN WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT SO FINISH UP IN THERE!!!"

"Tyler, I'm going to use the secret passageway MonoWither mentioned to get information from the upper floors. I need you to cover for me while I'm gone. Can you do that for me?"

Tyler stared at him blankly, not responding.

"Tyler?"

Suddenly, Tyler reached forward and hugged Seto tightly. Seto immediately went still and his eyes widened in shock.

"Just promise me you'll make it back alive, okay?" Tyler asked quietly, his voice trembling a little as he held Seto even tighter. "I don't care if you find anything or not. If something doesn't feel right, get back safely. That's all I need from you. Please... just promise me this. Promise me you'll protect yourself."

Seto's heart started to pound in his chest. He could feel Tyler's heartbeat as well, beating strongly with his...

"...I promise."

Tyler closed his eyes and released a long sigh. "Thank you..." he murmured before letting go of him.

_"YOU HAVE THIRTY MORE SECONDS!!!"_

"Wh-What are you going to do?" Seto asked nervously.

Tyler smiled at him. "Don't worry, I've got it under control. Just slowly take off the magic sound barriers or whatever they are.  _Slowly._ "

Seto nodded as the purple tint began to fade.

Tyler suddenly drew in a deep breath and stomped his foot. "Why can't you just trust us for once?!" he shouted angrily.

Seto flinched. "T-Tyler?" he asked, horrified.

Tyler winked at him in reassurance before continuing. "I'm- I'm just so  _tired_ of you lying to us like this! Why can't you just tell us the truth?! Why do you  _ALWAYS HIDE THINGS FROM US?!_ " He then motioned with his hand for Seto to say something.

Seto started to stammer. "I- I'm sorry, Tyler- I just-"

"You know what?! Fine! I'm- I'm tired of dealing with you when you're like this! I just want to help you, don't you realize that?! Why do you always push us away?!"

Tyler's acting was so convincing, Seto was worried that he was basing it off of his actual thoughts.

Tyler breathed heavily. "I'm sorry if I'm scaring you, Seto, I just... Sorry. I need to go." Tyler gave Seto one last worried glance before leaving the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

 _"Woah, what happened just now?!"_ MonoWither exclaimed.

 _"Go away,"_ Tyler muttered angrily.

_"No, no, no! You're telling us what happened! We're not missing out on this juicy, dramatic development! Did you and Seto just have a lover's quarrel? How painfully tragic! All you want is for him to trust you and he still hides everything from you! How do you think Seto's gonna react to what you said, though? We think he's just gonna keep himself locked up in the bathroom while he cries! Don't you think so too? What in the world led to you two arguing like that?!"_

_"It's none of your business! Just leave me alone!"_ Tyler yelled.

_"But_ _Tyleeer_ _...! We just wanna_ _knooowww_ _!!!"_

Seto could hear their voices getting fainter as they left the room, leaving him alone. He waited for a few moments before taking the gaming device out of his pocket.

_I'm solving this mystery once and for all, no matter what it takes. I'm getting all of us out of here. All six of us..._


	52. Violent Delights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving everyone! If the ending of this chapter seems abrupt, that's because I had to cut it in half.

"You just have to press that section of the wall over there by the sink, and then you can enter the passageway," CODIE murmured.

Seto felt tentatively against the wall, unsure if he was doing it right. "You mean here?"

"Yeah, there!"

Seto pressed harder until he felt a section of the wall give way and swing backward like a door, revealing a stone hallway that was lit up by torches.

CODIE's face disappeared behind an image of a map that seemed to be an outline of the first floor. A purple dot popped up at the edge of it. "As you can see, the passageway is actually hidden along the outer walls of the building. Think of it like... an extra layer separating the rooms from the outside? Anyway, this is where we are right now. To get to the upper floors, just follow the red line." As he said that, a red line showing the way appeared. "I'll make sure no one's around, and I'll warn you if someone comes or if there are traps nearby."

Seto's face paled. "W-wait, traps?!"

"D-Don't worry about that! They're only on the upper floors! I'll help you avoid them if they're there, I promise!"

"...Okay..." Seto murmured as he stepped into the hallway and closed the entrance behind him. He stared down at the screen and turned left, walking down the hallway and making sure the purple dot was following the red line. He noticed that there were signs on top of the "doors", indicating the owner of each room.

He shivered as he realized that if the Puppetmaster chose, they could enter anyone's room undetected...

Seto reached the end of the hallway and found himself at the bottom of a long wooden ladder against the wall that led to the floor above. He was actually at a corner of the passageway, and there was another hallway leading to his left, but the arrow on the screen didn't point in that direction. He assumed that it just led to the bedrooms on the other side of the hallway.

"Okay, this ladder goes all the way up, so just climb until you reach the 4th floor," CODIE whispered. "Please don't fall down or drop me! That would be really bad!"

Seto exhaled deeply before placing the device in his pocket and climbing up the ladder carefully, making sure not to bump his head once he crossed each floor. One part of him wanted to climb up as fast as possible while the other part wanted to maintain a slow but steady pace. If he slipped and fell, it probably wouldn't be fatal, but he could break CODIE by accident. At the same time, he was afraid MonoWither would quickly realize Seto had disappeared and his cover would be blown. How fast would they find out?

No, there was no point in worrying about that now. He couldn't turn back. Not until he had found something important. Besides, Tyler had only asked that he stop if something didn't feel right, right? It was way too early for that...

He was admittedly out of shape after weeks of being stuck in this building, but he still managed to climb all the way up without needing to take any breaks in-between. Seto grunted as he pulled himself up onto the fourth floor and stopped to catch his breath.

"W-Woah, you climbed that pretty fast..." CODIE murmured softly.

"Bodil probably would have climbed it even faster," Seto said in reply.

CODIE laughed a little but quickly stifled it. "Um, while you rest, I wanted to warn you about the traps. I don't think there should be any more of them since they were really just meant to hurt Bart, and Bart's already... dead. Besides, the Puppetmaster wouldn't want to activate their own trap on accident. However, just in case they're still there, they all involve water. Water might not be harmful to you, but an activated trap would definitely tell the Puppetmaster someone tried to get in. I don't want to make the same mistake as last time..."

"What did you do?" Seto asked.

CODIE cringed. "I didn't notice a trap so Bart got really hurt! He barely managed to escape before he was caught, but fortunately he got to the third floor and made a Potion of Harming to heal himself. Agh, but MonoWither got even more suspicious after that! And it almost made everyone vote for Steven as Husky's killer!"

"W-Wait, what are you talking about?" Seto asked. "I thought Bart made the Potion of Harming for... Dave..."

Suddenly, that whole part of the trial made more sense. Steven's desperate lies and attempts to conceal the truth, Bart's blood on the table in the potions room, his torn sleeve... Even then, those three had been hiding things from MonoWither. Unfortunately, MonoWither had already suspected them to be spies, which was why they had interfered so much during that scene of the trial.

"Anyway, enough about all that. I don't know much about this floor, to be honest, other than the portal to the resort and the room where the Puppetmaster accidentally left their plan book. Bart only had time to steal the book before he was almost caught..." CODIE mumbled.

"Will we be caught if we enter the locked rooms?" Seto asked.

"Well, there aren't any cameras in the locked rooms, so we don't have to worry about that. However, if the Puppetmaster catches us, it won't be good..."

"I see." Seto sighed as he rose to his feet. "Then we'll just have to be careful. Our situation is good for now. The only ones who know about this are Tyler and Slotty, and Slotty won't be able to do anything about it as long as he isn't summoned again. I promise I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn't happen."

"You know... I really like it when you talk that way..." CODIE mumbled shyly.

"What do you mean?" Seto asked, confused.

"When you sound all optimistic and determined, it makes me feel like I can do anything, no matter the odds!" CODIE exclaimed.

"...Really?"

"Of course! In that case, I'll definitely make sure we get the information we need and return safely! That's the promise I'm going to make!"

"Thank you, CODIE. You've really been a great help this whole time, and I'm glad I got to know you."

"E-Enough distractions! We've gone off topic! Let's focus on the task at hand, Seto!" CODIE blubbered with embarrassment.

_But_ _you_ _were_ _the_ _one who went off-topic first..._

"Anyway, the first room we should inspect is the one you're standing in front of," CODIE advised. "Don't worry, no one's in there."

Seto inspected the entrance carefully, checking for signs of trip wires, but found nothing. He cautiously pushed against the wall and part of it swung open. Seto peeked inside and saw that there was indeed no one inside like CODIE had said.

"I don't detect any traps," CODIE murmured.

Seto slowly stepped inside and shut the "door" behind him. The room was rather small, but the two side walls were covered with various sheets of paper that were pinned on using thumbtacks. In the center of the room was a wooden table with a closed laptop.

Strangely enough, there was also a half-eaten banana next to the computer. "Did someone forget to finish eating this or something?" Seto muttered under his breath as he crinkled his nose in disgust at the awful and putrid smell. It was so old, it was now black and moldy. Seto had to fight the urge to throw it away; he knew that he had to leave this room as unchanged as possible. 

"Ahhh, well, probably, since that was there the last time Bart was here..." CODIE said awkwardly.

Seto did his best to distract himself from the smell as he turned away to examine the walls. "Well, were all these papers here?"

"No, actually. It's like the whole room changed for some reason. What do they say? Wait, hold on, show the papers to me and I'll analyze them as fast as I can!"

"Well, you don't need to rush yourself," Seto said as he raised the screen to face the left wall. "After all, what's important is that we get the right infor-"

"Oh... Oh no..." CODIE said quietly.

"What?" Seto asked, confused.

"...These papers... They... No, this doesn't make sense..."

"CODIE?" Seto asked.

"...Um, why don't you look yourself..." CODIE murmured. "I have to... think about what this all means..."

Seto glanced at the left section of the wall, which had dozens of photographs pinned closely together in a scattered fashion. He noticed a familiar face in all of them...

_Is that... Jade...?_

There was no mistaking it. She was wearing different outfits in each photo, but the hairstyle and face were obviously hers. She was smiling shyly at the camera, sitting or standing next to a variety of other teenagers.

_Are these her classmates?_

There was another common face among the photos, and it was that of a red-headed boy. He wasn't in all of the photos, but he was still in a decent number of them, and he and Jade were often right next to each other.

_Oh yeah... This must be that Rory she mentioned in her note..._

A bad feeling of dread sinking into his stomach, Seto continued along the wall. There was one photo to the right, separated from the others. This one was a class photo with 16 students, including Jade, and a female teacher standing off to the side. Written on the bottom photo in black marker ink was "Ms. Arnold's Class of 2014-2015!"

_I saw a similar photo in the secret room, except that one had everyone's eyes crossed out... I guess this photo is the original one. But why are there so many photos of Jade here?_ _If Jade was still alive, what would she say about all this?_ _This is so creepy... It's almost like someone was stalking her or something..._

_...Wait, if I remember correctly, Jade said in her note that this photo was taken just a few weeks ago. But it's 2016 now! 2015 was a year ago! I guess something really did happen to her memory..._

_It can't just be a coincidence. The Puppetmaster must have removed her memories of the past year somehow..._

Continuing to the right, Seto found himself staring at a bunch of newspaper cutouts. His face paled as he skimmed through and read some of the headlines.

_**"17 PERISH IN HIGH SCHOOL FIRE"** _

_**"POLICE: DEADLY FIRE AT LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL A TRAGIC ACCIDENT"** _

**_"MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD FOR 16 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND TEACHER"_   **

_**"TWO MONTHS LATER, FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT DEADLY HIGH SCHOOL FIRE ARE ANSWERED"** _

Seto glanced at some of the photos in the articles. Many of them showed a building burned to the ground, leaving behind only charred debris. This was the result of a fire? If Seto hadn't read the headlines, he would have thought that a bomb had gone off...

His heart sank as he saw some photos of the smiling classmates, including Jade. What in the world had happened to these innocent kids? 

"...They were having an end-of-the-year party..." CODIE said, finally breaking his silence. "The teacher, Ms. Arnold, was hosting a party for Jade's class in the school gym. But then for some reason a fire broke out and none of them could escape. The police concluded that everyone must have died in the fire, including Jade, although not all of the bodies could be recovered or identified. That's how bad the fire got. Strangely enough, the sprinklers didn't go off and no one escaped despite the doors being unlocked, but there still wasn't enough evidence to suspect foul play. In the end, it was determined that the fault was in the school for not following safety guidelines and properly maintaining their security system. There were so many lawsuits against the school, the school's reputation was ruined permanently and it was forced to shut down the following year..."

"But how and why would something like this even happen?" Seto whispered. "How did Jade survive the fire? Why didn't she remember anything about this? This doesn't make any sense..."

"I don't know either. We need more information, but I highly suspect that this incident is connected to the Puppetmaster and this killing game somehow. Don't you agree?"

"...Yeah, I think so too... This must be an important clue in solving the mystery behind this killing game and uncovering the Puppetmaster's identity..." Seto replied. "We just need to collect more pieces of the puzzle and the truth will come to light, I'm sure of it."

"This is it for the papers on this wall. Let's check the other side before the computer," CODIE said.

Seto nodded as he turned around to face the right wall, but he immediately stopped once he saw what was on it. Countless papers were pinned there, but they all had angry red X's crossed over them. After a few bewildered moments, he hesitantly got a closer look. They looked like identification papers, judging by how each sheet had a black-and-white photo of a person's face in the left corner and text covering the rest of it. Such text included the person's name, age, location of work, assigned job and projects, among other details.

Seto's face paled as he recognized some of the information. These people, they were...

"Oh... These are all members of the Order..." CODIE said softly.

Seto took a shaky step back and glanced at all the papers. There had to be hundreds of them. There were so many, plenty of them were overlapping others like a messed up collage. And they were all crossed out, which had to mean...

* * *

_The machine hovered a few inches in front of Seto, their red eyes gleaming._

**_"We can't be part of something that doesn't exist anymore, can we?"_  **

* * *

_"You hate the Order quite a bit, don't you?"_

_"Who wouldn't? We mean, don't you hate them too? They ruined your whole life, abused you, degraded you, and made you a killer! You should be thankful that we got rid of them, now they can't hurt any more innocent people!"_

* * *

As Seto stared at the photos, he noticed that one in particular had two dragon wings crossed over the paper rather than a normal "X". He could barely make out the image behind a wing, but it seemed to be that of a middle-aged woman with short, trimmed hair.

"They were telling the truth... They really did kill off the whole Order..." Seto whispered in disbelief, covering his mouth in shock. "Oh my god... Who the hell are we up against? If they managed to take down the Order of the Ender Dragon of all things, then- then-!"

"Don't lose hope, Seto! You can still defeat the Puppetmaster!" CODIE interrupted. "I believe in you! After all, we have something they don't!"

"W-We do?"

"Yeah!"

"Like what?" 

"Um... Uh... I don't know, um-  _friendship_!"

Seto stared down at CODIE. "...Friendship...?" It intrigued him to hear the AI bring up something so... emotional.

CODIE flushed in embarrassment and looked away. "W-Well,  _you_  do... You have friends by your side... To help and support you, you know? So it'll be okay..."

"...Why did you leave yourself out?" Seto asked.

"Well- um- I don't know, I just- Wow, I have to calculate something right now! Goodbye!" CODIE disappeared behind an image with the phrase "CALCULATING..." 

"You're my friend too, right?"

CODIE stayed silent for a few moments before reappearing timidly. "Steven called me a friend too..." he murmured. "Even though I failed him a lot..."

"CODIE, we've been over this-"

"But if you consider me a friend, then that makes me the happiest AI in the world!" CODIE grinned widely. "I'll do my best to help you defeat the Puppetmaster and fulfill my purpose!"

Seto smiled back at him before turning his attention to the final piece of interest in the room: the laptop. Doing his best to ignore the rotten banana, Seto opened the computer. To his surprise, the device had merely been in sleep mode, so the home screen showed up. The wallpaper was a digital drawing of MonoWither.

"Hmm... Why wasn't there a password?" CODIE murmured to himself. "The Puppetmaster doesn't use passwords for a lot of things... I wonder why..."

"What should I do now?" Seto asked.

"Um... Oh! There's a minimized window on the taskbar! Open it!"

"...There's a  _what_?"

"Agh! The picture that's highlighted at the bottom! The one with a yellow folder! Click on it!"

Seto fumbled with the mousepad for a bit before finally clicking on the icon. A window labeled "File Explorer- Videos" popped up, showing a folder labeled "Favorite Videos".

"Should I open it?" Seto asked.

"...Yeah, I guess..." CODIE sounded a bit hesitant about it though.

Seto opened the file and saw three video files. "Do I watch these?"

CODIE was silent for a few moments. "The room  _is_ soundproof. It wouldn't be good if the others heard the Puppetmaster working on stuff in here, right? So I think it should be fine... Just don't play it too loudly."

Seto opened the first file and made sure the volume was low.

* * *

_Jade was sitting at a lunch table, earphones jammed in both ears as she tapped on her phone vigorously. Her food was in front of her, forgotten and ignored._

_Whoever was filming her started to snicker a little, making Jade glance up._

_"What are you- Hey!" She reached for the camera, but the person filming moved the camera so that she couldn't take it away. Rory suddenly came into view as he turned the camera (most likely a cellphone, now that Seto thought about it) around so that it was showing both him and Jade._

_"Jade's writing something mysterious!" Rory said, laughing. "I wonder what she's writing..."_

_"Yeah well, you don't have to film me!_ _" Jade said, turning her attention back to her phone. She was trying to look as annoyed as possible, but she couldn't help but smile._

_Rory leaned over the whole table just to point the camera at Jade's screen. "Maybe I can sell a sneak peek to your readers for money-"_

_Jade tilted her screen away from the camera's view before he could zoom in. "No, these spoilers are too big!!!"_

_"Oh wow, you're writing a spoiler scene? That means I_ have to  _get a sneak peek somehow-"_

_"Just be quiet and leave me alone!"_

_"Yeah Rory, quiet!" a boy at the table said, rolling his eyes._

_"Go flirt with her some other time!" his friend said, giggling mischievously. This comment made all the surrounding teens laugh._

_"I- I'm not flirting!" Rory replied quickly, barely audible over the laughter._

_A girl cupped her hands around her mouth. "JADE AND_ _RORY_ _SITTING IN A TREE!_ _**F-U-C-** _ _"_

_"Oh shit-" Rory cursed before the video suddenly ended._

* * *

Even though the video had been so lighthearted, Seto stared at the screen with sadness. Jade and her classmates, they had just been regular high school students. Why... Why had something so horrible happened to these innocent kids? 

"I think we should watch all the videos as fast as possible," CODIE said. "Let's head back after we finish the last video."

Seto could sense the apprehension and wariness in CODIE's voice, but didn't want to waste time asking him if anything was wrong. "All right, we will," he said as he opened the next video.

* * *

_Jade was sitting at a lunch table, earphones jammed in both ears as she tapped on her phone vigorously. Her food was in front of her, forgotten and ignored._

_Whoever was filming her started to snicker a little, making Jade glance up._   

"What?" Seto asked, hesitantly checking to make sure he hadn't opened the first one by accident. But no, this was indeed the second video.

"Hmm, it looks exactly the same..." CODIE murmured.

Seto watched the banter between Jade and Rory again, confused, until MonoWither's voice came up in the video.

_"The Super Duper_ _Minecrafter_ _Level Lucky Fan is so close with her 15 other homeroom classmates..." MonoWither said over the laughter of the recording._

Seto felt chills rise up his spine. Suddenly everything made sense. This was Jade's motive video...

_"Wow, she definitely deserves her title! Not only did she win a lottery to meet the celebrities she admires, but she's also lucky enough to have many friends at school! All those precious memories she spent with them must be dear to her heart! Wouldn't it be a shame if those fun times had to end?"_

_Suddenly the screen flickered and Seto gasped in horror. The scene had changed to a dimly lit gymnasium. Seto didn't know how to describe the utter chaos that was in this gym. Dead bodies of young teenagers were littered around the bloodied floor. The ones who weren't dead, however, were... fighting each other._

_No, fighting was the wrong word. It was more like... a senseless slaughter. A brutal massacre that reminded him of the "special episode" involving the Hope Organization members._

_Seto gasped in horror as a girl lunged at another boy with an axe. The boy, who was wielding a knife, let out a bloodcurdling scream as the girl swung the axe at his neck, knocking him down as easily as a house of cards. The girl grinned victoriously as she struggled to remove the axe from the boy's neck. However, a familiar redhead came up behind her as she was distracted._

_Rory yelled as a horrible whirring sound filled the air. The girl barely had time to turn around before Rory charged at her with a circular saw, shoving the spinning blades straight through her chest and pinning her to the wall. Rory laughed unstably as the girl screamed in agony before he finally turned off the saw, letting her deceased body slide limply to the ground and leave_ _a trail of blood oozing down the wall._

Seto wanted so, so badly to look away from the gory, gruesome sight, but his eyes were glued to the screen.

_"Oh no!" MonoWither's voice continued. "What in the world are her beloved classmates doing? Why are they killing each other so brutally? What would compel them to do such awful things to their own friends? When and why did such a grisly thing occur?"_

_The screen went black and five words flashed on the screen in giant letters. "FIND OUT AFTER THE SHOW!"_

* * *

It took a few moments for Seto to realize that the video had ended. His hands were shaking violently and he felt like he couldn't get enough air in his heaving lungs. He felt sick to the core...

"Seto, take deep breaths," CODIE said. "I know it's horrible, but you have to calm down..."

Seto shut his eyes tightly and swallowed before breathing deeply for awhile. He needed to focus, he needed to recollect himself, but he couldn't stop remembering something Jade had said after the first motive...

* * *

_Jade spoke a little bit louder, but her voice shook. "It doesn't matter at all... whether they're real or not... Because there's nothing we can do about it..." She looked around at the people who were all staring at her and swallowed. "What I saw in my video... was the most horrible thing I ever saw in my life... But there's no way we can leave this place until we're rescued. Killing one another is not an option, because you're all friends!" She forced a nervous smile. "I- I'm not one of you, but I still trust all of you... None of you will ever fall into MonoWither's trap because you're so close... And there's no way you could ever kill your friends..."_

_She put her hand on her chest and spoke with more conviction. "I have so much faith that you'll all stick together and prove MonoWither wrong. If we all just keep on living this communal life like we have been these past few days, then everyone will be saved! I admire you all so much, I know you guys can do this!"_

* * *

Jade had said all this despite having just seen footage of her own friends killing each other violently. She had also not had the luxury of assuming the videos were fake because the faces in her video had been shown. So why had she said such optimistic words? Had she just been in denial? Or had she just been determined to make sure the same thing didn't happen to them?

If she had seen this, why had she trusted Sky enough to let him in her room? Once again, was it the result of denial?

It hurt that Seto couldn't ask her any of these questions. He couldn't help her or comfort her. He couldn't say anything to her anymore. After all, she was with her friends now...

"Seto?" CODIE asked hesitantly, cutting off his thought. "Are you... feeling calmer?"

Seto paused for a moment before sighing. "Yeah. I guess. Let's just finish the last video and get this over with."

With extreme reluctance, Seto opened the final file.

* * *

_In the middle of a dark cobblestone room were eight tables positioned in one long row. Each table had one person lying spread-eagled, chained by their ankles and wrists. They were all unconscious and wearing identical black shirts and purple shorts._

Seto's eyes widened. Black shirts... Purple shorts... That's what members of the Order would wear beneath their cloaks!

_Gradually, they began to wake up from their slumber. "Wh... What..." one man mumbled as his eyes slid open. "Where am I..."_

_"Why can't I see?" another man asked._

_"Where are the lights?!" a woman yelled. "What the hell's going on here?!"_

_The woman next to her began to struggle against her bonds to no avail. "We're trapped!" she cried out._

_Everyone was now panicking, writhing desperately as they screamed for help._

Seto swallowed nervously. This video, like the other one, wouldn't end well. He could already tell, considering who was most likely behind this...

Sure enough,  _their_  voice came up. It didn't sound quite as modulated or robotic as MonoWither's, but the tone and pitch were almost the same. Almost forced, even.

_"Oh dear, it looks like the subjects are awake! Right on schedule too... Good job, me! Keep this up and you'll be an excellent show host in no time!"_

How in the world had the Puppetmaster managed to capture and subdue these eight members? Had they been a member themselves? Seto pushed the questions from his mind as he focused again on the video. He could work it out later. Right now, he needed to see what would happen to them, even though he was filled with utter dread.

_"Y-You!" one of the men shrieked._

_"Ooh, so you recognize my voice? Isn't it lovely?"_

So the members had known who the Puppetmaster was...

_"Let us go!" a woman shouted, her haughty tone in her voice failing to conceal the way it trembled with apprehension. "What is the meaning of this- this nonsense?!"_

Seto's eyes widened as he recognized the woman. She was the one with the dragon wings crossed over her paper! And seeing as she was placed near the center of the group, perhaps... she was the leader?

 _"Well you see, when people want to show their appreciation for another person, they give a token of their friendship, right? So in return for all the hard work you've done, I decided to give you... well... a_ parting  _gift in return, pardon the pun..."_

_Bright lights suddenly flashed on and the eight people shut their eyes tightly before squinting. When their vision fully adjusted, they blinked rapidly and looked up to realize that the ceiling was quite a distance above them. The camera panned upwards slightly to show what they were staring at._

Seto couldn't stop his body from seizing up in horror and revulsion.

_Dangling from the ceiling was a long metal pole which had a large, razor-sharp saw blade attached to the end. A button was pressed before the contraption activated and the blade began to spin wildly. For a moment, everyone was too bewildered to speak._

_Then the pole started to swing back and forth as it slowly descended from the ceiling towards them, and everything broke into chaos._

Getting cut straight in half with a giant saw blade? This was like something straight out of a horror movie or television show! But no, this wasn't fake at all. This was real, all too real. Just like all the executions too many of his friends had suffered through and perished in, no matter how bizarre this appeared, this was gruesomely real...

_All eight people were screaming and flailing on the tables, and some were actually sobbing in terror and anguish. The iron saw blade, swinging like a pendulum of a ticking grandfather clock, whirred loudly as it spun. Its jagged edges were so sharp, one could almost see the air itself being sliced apart as well..._

_"Ah, these sounds..." the voice said over the PA system. "These sounds of pure agony... These sounds of utter terror and anguish... I know them well... They're the tragically hopeless sounds of_ despair _! It's like a demented choir from hell, isn't it deliciously wonderful? As an aspiring show host, I make a pretty good composer too, don't I? And no, none of your petty bargains will work with me! I am completely satisfied with this! My very first execution... I spent so long planning this out, I'm so glad to finally see it happening! My dream is coming true!"_

So the similarities to the executions weren't a coincidence. This had happened a while ago, maybe long before the show had started. But how long ago? And most importantly, why was the Puppetmaster doing this?

_The Puppetmaster in the video continued to mock them relentlessly as the saw blade descended._

_"Well? How does it feel?" the voice said, their voice suddenly dropping to a low, menacing whisper. "How does it feel? Huh?! HOW DOES IT FEEL?! HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE EVERYTHING OUT OF YOUR CONTROL???!!! DOES IT FEEL NICE???!!! WELL I BET IT FUCKING DOESN'T!!!" The voice cleared their throat. "Ah, pardon my language... I got a little heated just there! My dearest apologies for my rudeness, I shouldn't have gotten carried away like that! An aspiring show host like me must learn to keep their language in check for the audience!"_

Seto found himself reminded of MonoWither's explosive temper tantrum the day before. Control... Why was that so important to the Puppetmaster?

_The saw blade descended at an even faster pace than before. The tension and anxiety in the air were palpable._

_"Come on now, any last words? No? Aw man, this execution is going to be so boring... But I'm not that upset. After all, you eight are only the beginning, and it's not like anyone's going to know what's happened to you, let alone miss you! Soon... Soon I'll have lots more people under my control... I can see it so clearly now... The entire world plunging into despair because of me... Ah, my mind's going numb at the thought! It's quite unfortunate how you're not going to be alive to watch it though, but I'm going to be the most excellent show host! I've already chosen the 16 lucky people who're going to participate! So you see, I'm going to have lots and lots of despairing entertainment without you guys!"_

The 16 lucky people... The Puppetmaster as a show host... Plunging the entire world into despair... They had made it sound like this was their lifelong dream, their one true goal, the one thing they wanted to see happen before they died. But  _why_? The idea was just so insanely over-elaborate and sadistic to Seto. What kind of sadist would go this far for such a disturbing goal?

_The yards had now dwindled down to feet as the saw blade closed in for the kill._

_"Welp! Guess this is it now! Have fun burning in hell!_ **Upupupu!!!** _"_

_The saw blade made one final deadly arc through the air._

Seto gasped in disgust and looked away, but not before seeing the blade rip through their flesh and tear out everything inside-

Seto let out a retching sound as he clamped a sweaty hand over his mouth and hunched over to the side, his whole body shuddering violently as he did everything he could to suppress the urge to vomit. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to get the horrible image out of his mind. The knuckles of his other trembling hand gripped the table for support, forcefully pinning down CODIE in the process by accident.

"Seto? Seto!" CODIE shrieked. "Seto, are you okay? Seto!"

_"_ _Whooo_ _!!! That was so thrilling! First execution went off without a hitch!" the voice cheered before bursting into peals of unhinged, deranged laughter._

**_"I guess... I guess this can be a little introduction before we start the_  real  _show..._ _"_**

The video finally,  _finally_ came to an end.

"Seto, can you hear me?" CODIE asked, horrified.

Seto drew in shaky gasps for breath as he struggled to collect himself. "Y-Yeah, yeah, I-" Seto stood up straight and coughed a little. "I'm- I'm fine..."

"You aren't fine!" CODIE cried out. "Who could be fine after watching that?!"

"I'm  _fine._ " Seto grimaced as he turned back to the computer screen and closed the video window. "Let's just- Let's just get the hell out of here."

CODIE went silent before finally replying. "...Yeah, let's get out of here before-" 

CODIE suddenly gasped in horror. 

_"Someone's coming!!!"_


	53. Violent Ends

_"These violent delights have violent ends_

_And in their triumph die, like fire and powder"_

_-William Shakespeare,_ Romeo and Juliet

* * *

Seto panicked for a second before slamming the laptop shut, shoving CODIE into his pocket, and backing into a corner. A purple glow emanated from his hands and spread all over his body before it faded away, leaving him completely invisible. Part of him wanted to just run out the door, but he couldn't risk the chance that the Puppetmaster would see him leaving the "forbidden room" through the security cameras.

A second later, someone pushed open the secret entrance from the passageway and stepped inside carefully, closing the wall behind them. Seto felt his heart skip a beat when he saw who it was.

There was no mistaking it. The black-and-white cloak, the jester-style hood, the white smiling harlequin mask... This was the same disguise the Puppetmaster had been wearing in the video about Seth!

The masked person looked around, scanning the room. Seto did his best to stand as still as he could. He could barely let himself breathe; he felt like if he didn't hold his breath he would start to hyperventilate like crazy.

The masked person slowly approached the computer and reached for it with gloved hands, but then stopped and looked at the rotten, half-eaten banana that was lying there. They tilted their head, seemingly in confusion, before quickly pushing it off the table into the trash can with the back of their hand.

Could this masked person hear his heartbeat? Seto prayed to whatever gods there were that they couldn't. If they found him, he was done for...

_Please leave please leave please leave please-_

The masked person glanced one more time around the room before finally turning back to the passageway entrance. They rested a hand against the wall before they turned their head to the side, revealing part of their mask's eternal smile.

Seto didn't have time to react before the masked person pulled a potion bottle from their pocket and threw it on the ground, shattering the flask and sending a toxic gas into the air.

Seto held his breath as he clamped his hands over his nose and mouth, but the gas quickly surrounded him. His whole chest ached, but he refused to breathe in the gas. He couldn't, no matter what! He had to stay conscious! He... He had to...

Against his will, Seto gasped for breath and immediately broke into a violent coughing fit as the gas entered his lungs. He glanced helplessly at the masked person, who was staring straight at him through the thick gas. Seto barely registered the fact that his magic was gone and the invisibility spell was useless now. He had to get out of here!

Seto fought the overwhelming urge to faint as he struggled to stagger his way to the door, but his muscles barely responded. His knees gave way as he collapsed to the floor on all fours, still coughing and gasping weakly. No! He couldn't give in! He couldn't succumb to the gas again! Everyone's lives were depending on him!

Suddenly Seto screamed in agony as the masked person stomped down hard with their boot, making pain explode from his back. Still pinning him down, the masked person knelt down and began searching through his pockets. Seto tried to resist, to shove the person off of him, but his body had stopped listening.

 _No...! Stop.._. _!_

The masked person finally found the gaming device and stood up, holding it triumphantly in their hand. Seto tried to move, but his muscles barely twitched in response. All he could do was watch as the masked person stared at the device, the mask's smile probably matching the actual person's expression...

The masked person turned to look down at Seto, who was crying uncontrollably. Mustering up the last reserves of his strength, he reached a shaking hand out futilely towards them.

_Please... Don't... CODIE..._

The last thing Seto saw was the masked person throwing the device to the ground and stomping on it repeatedly, crushing everything without mercy.

_...N... No..._

Then all his vision and thought faded into pitch-black darkness as his body went limp.

* * *

When Seto came to, the first thing he felt was the cold tears, sticky and dry on his cheeks. He blinked slowly as he raised his head a little, his mind sluggishly trying to catch up to the present, before he flinched in horror.

Shattered bits and pieces of machinery... Was that really all that was left of CODIE now?

Almost mockingly, a jagged piece of the screen was positioned right in front of Seto's face. The screen that CODIE used to appear in, smiling happily as he tried to help Seto as best as he could...

_I'm... I'm so sorry CODIE... I failed to protect you... I failed..._

Seto started to push himself up before noticing something move in the reflection of the screen. He immediately went still, his eyes widening in horror. The masked person was still there! Seto focused on the reflection, too scared to look behind him.

The masked person was standing at the entrance to the passageway, clutching a shiny object Seto couldn't clearly make out in their gloved hand. The person glanced over their shoulder at Seto before stepping into the hallway and closing the entrance.

Seto hesitated for a few seconds before struggling to get to his feet.

_They... killed CODIE... They did this to him..._ _I can't let them get away!_

Despite his weak, shaking body, Seto staggered to the passageway and pushed the wall open slightly, peeking through. He saw the masked person standing in front of the ladder at the end of the hallway before they shoved the object into their pocket and climbed down. Seto hesitantly approached the ladder. He shut his eyes tightly as he tried to summon his magic to turn himself invisible, but he only succeeded in making himself feel more exhausted.

_The gas seems to have magic-negating qualities..._

Seto waited for awhile, occasionally peeking down the ladder, until the masked person finally reached the first floor and dropped down on their feet, the impact sound audible in the utter silence of the passageway.

Seto began climbing down the ladder as silently as possible. However, he stopped when he reached the second floor. What if the masked person was still there? If they spotted him, it would be game over.

He wished he had CODIE to help him, but he was all alone now. Alone, and powerless too, no less.

Seto crouched down and peeked once more, sticking his head through the gap until he could see the floor below. There was no sign of the masked person and their distinctive cloak. Seto grunted with exertion as he got up and climbed down to the bottom.

When he turned around, he saw that one of the secret entrances to the rooms was left open. He slowly approached, noticing that it was the entrance to Seth's room. Had the masked person gone inside? Why?

Seto snuck inside and found himself in the bathroom. The bathroom door was left open, allowing Seto to catch a glimpse of the masked person standing in the main room. Seto immediately hid beside the bathroom doorway, but still observed them carefully.

The masked person was holding a knife in their hand. Was this the shiny object he had seen? Seto felt his stomach turn icy with dread. What were they planning to do with a knife of all things? This couldn't be good...

Still holding the knife, the masked person opened the door and left Seth's room, shutting it behind them. Seto ran to the door and opened it slightly, wondering what the hell the masked person was going to do now.

The masked person approached the room opposite Seth's and slowly opened the door. Seto's face paled when he realized at the last moment that it was Tyler's room.

 _No! No, don't go in there!_ Seto screamed mentally, but it was too late. The masked person had already gone inside and shut the door behind them. Seto rushed to the door, turning the doorknob, but it was no use. It was already locked.

Seto stepped away, his chest starting to heave as panic made its way into his system. This couldn't be happening! Tyler- The masked person- The knife-! Without a second thought, Seto whirled around and ran back into Seth's room. He practically threw the doors open as he charged into the hidden passageway and sprinted around to the other end where Tyler's room was.

_Hang in there, Tyler! Please! Please don't let me be too late!_

Seto shoved open the entrance to Tyler's bathroom and finally entered Tyler's room. But... nothing could have ever prepared him to see what he was seeing now...

The masked person was crouching over Tyler's bed, still holding the knife in their hand. The knife was dripping with freshly-spilled blood.

 _...Tyler..._?

Seto lowered his gaze to the bloodied person lying on his side below the masked person, completely still. There were deep gouges all over his face and bloodstains all over the front of his shirt. His wrists and ankles were bound with ropes. Hauntingly, his glazed eyes were wide open, staring back at Seto without moving in the slightest. It was like he was petrified. Like he was paralyzed. Like he was...

...

Like... Tyler was...

...

_...What...? What's... going on...?_

The masked figure crawled off of Tyler and faced Seto, their disguise hiding whatever expression they had at the moment. But all Seto could do was stare down at the body, shell-shocked. His arms dropped down to hang limply by his sides as his spinning, whirling mind went completely numb.

_...N-No... Tyler... This... isn't real... right...?_

Suddenly something shiny caught Seto's eye and he flinched, finally looking away from the body to see the bloodied knife.

_Is that... Tyler's blood...?_

He looked up at the masked person, who casually wiped the blood from both sides of the knife against a clean spot on Tyler's neck. Then they met Seto's gaze and cupped their other hand under their chin, as though they were watching him with great pleasure.

Seto felt like something snapped within him as his body began to twitch.

_You... You did this..._

Seto's whole body started to tremble with rage as he balled his hands into fists.

The masked person tilted their head in amusement, the movement making the jester cones on their hood shake a little.

_You did this to him... You KILLED TYLER!_

Abandoning all rationale, Seto let out a raw, agonized scream as he lunged at the masked person with his bare hands. The masked person quickly threw up their arms in self-defense, forming a magical barrier that blocked Seto's attack. Overcome with uncontrollable emotions that he couldn't describe, Seto still screamed as he mindlessly beat his fists against the sickly green barrier over and over again. Tears streamed down his face as purple sparks actually started to flare from his hands.

The barrier suddenly disappeared and Seto tumbled forward, knocking the masked person backward onto the floor. The knife fell from their hand, clattering somewhere off to the side. Seto's eyes were burning with rage as he pulled at the sides of the mask to tear it off and reveal their identity, but for some reason the mask barely budged. Was it tied to their head-?

In that moment, the masked person shoved Seto aside and reached for the knife, but Seto crushed down their outstretched arm with his elbow and snatched it away from them. He staggered to his feet, pointing the knife at the masked person as they stood up, wobbling unsteadily on their tall boots.

"Who... Who are you...?" Seto growled in a low, hoarse voice.

Instead of replying, the masked person suddenly charged at Seto, making him instinctively raise the knife. Seto gasped in shock as the masked person slammed their hand down on the blade, impaling it straight through their own palm. To his confusion, Seto didn't hear any cry of pain or see any physical reaction to the brutal stab wound. Seto let go of the knife and the masked person fled into the bathroom, disappearing into the hidden passageway.

"W-Wait- No-! Get back here you  _coward_!" Seto shrieked, turning around to chase after them, but he suddenly heard a low, muffled whine behind him.

Seto felt chills run up and down his spine as he turned back and hesitantly approached the bed. Had... Had he just imagined that...?

Seto shut his eyes tightly before finally summoning the courage to look down.

Tyler was still in the same position on his side, motionless and limp on the bed. There was... a lot of blood. Too much blood. His eyes were still wide open in that same, vacant-

Suddenly Seto realized that they were looking up at him. Hadn't they been looking at the side of the bed earlier?

"...Tyler...?" Seto whispered, gently reaching forward with a trembling hand to touch his shoulder. He almost drew back when Tyler let out a soft, guttural sound.

"Oh- Oh my god-!" Seto cried out as he moved Tyler so he was lying on his back. "Tyler? Tyler!"

_He's- He's alive! He's alive!_

Tyler didn't even muster a reply this time, nor did he move on his own. What was wrong with him? It seemed like he barely had control over his movements. Why?

Suddenly Seto had a horrible, horrible realization as he recognized the symptoms. Tyler must have been drugged with a powerful Potion of Weakness, which was similar to a sleeping potion except the former kept the victim conscious. The masked person had drugged Tyler and tied him up for good measure so that he wouldn't be able to resist...

Tyler let out a small whimper of pain, jolting Seto out of his thoughts. His wounds! They were still bleeding! Seto's mind was running a mile a minute as he tried to collect himself. If he didn't do something fast, Tyler might lose too much blood!

And if that happened, then...

"Don't- Don't worry, Tyler-! I'll be back, I just need to get a potion to help you!" Seto choked out before running outside and hurrying to his own room. He fumbled for the key before finally unlocking the door and rushing inside. He tugged open the nightstand and found the Potion of Healing that MonoWither had dyed dark-red a long time ago to trick Steven into killing Dave. Thank god he had kept it...

Seto also pocketed the yin-and-yang dagger before running back to Tyler's room. To his relief, the masked person hadn't returned to finish the job.

"I'm back, Tyler, you're going to be okay..." Seto whispered frantically, trying to get his hands to stop shaking as he opened the lid. He began pouring the potion onto the deep cuts on his face and watched as they started to close up and heal.

Tyler whimpered again in response, but he still didn't move. Whatever the masked person had drugged him with was still taking a strong effect.

Tyler's wrists and ankles were still bound, so Seto pulled out the dagger and began cutting the ropes. As he did so, he noticed that the masked person had also cut the palms of his hands, although the Potion of Healing was taking care of those wounds too.

_Why... Why would they hurt him like this? Were they actually planning to... torture him to death? Why?!_

_...Also... who was that person in disguise anyway?_

Seto looked down at Tyler again, his heart still racing a mile a minute from the adrenaline. It seemed that Tyler was only able to move his tear-filled eyes, but they were fixated on Seto. Seto cringed as he noticed the blood still staining Tyler's face and hands. He should clean that up for him...

Seto hesitantly left Tyler's side and went into the bathroom. However, he almost let out a shout when he saw Jerry sitting on the floor. Startled, Jerry bounced away from Seto and attempted to hide in the shower.

_How the hell did they get in here? I'm sure they weren't here earlier..._

Seto shook his head as he grabbed a towel and turned on the faucet, but no water came out. Only then did he remember that the water was turned off during Night Time. What the hell was he going to do now?

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head as he turned to face the shower, where Jerry was cowering in fear. Seto slowly knelt down and crawled towards Jerry. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," Seto murmured, reaching a hand out to the terrified slime. "I'm not Slotty, I'm Seto. Slotty was the one who tried to hurt you, but I would never do something like that. I'm Jordan's friend. You can trust me."

Jerry hesitated for a moment before finally hopping over to Seto, who picked him up gently and got to his feet. Seto walked back to Tyler, whose arms were actually starting to twitch a little. It seemed the potion was starting to wear off, so that was a good sign.

"This might feel weird, but it's probably better than dried blood..." Seto muttered before placing Jerry on a patch of blood on the bedsheets. Tyler slowly closed his eyes as the slime quickly... got to work on him.

Seto sat on the edge of the bed and absentmindedly brushed the hair from Tyler's eyes as he murmured comforting words, although he wasn't exactly sure if they were more for Tyler rather than himself.

Seto flinched when he felt something lightly brush along his kneecap. He looked to see Tyler weakly moving his arm so that his fingers were barely touching his leg. Tyler looked up at Seto, a very faint but grateful smile barely tugging the corners of his mouth. Seto paused before grasping Tyler's hand delicately, as though it would shatter if he wasn't careful enough.

Despite everything that had just happened and the chaos that was bound to occur later, Seto felt strangely at peace for once. This was probably the eye of a bitter storm. Hell would most likely return the moment Night Time ended, or possibly even earlier than that. But in this moment... this quiet, still moment with Tyler... Seto felt too worn out to panic. It was like time didn't exist in this world. Right now it was just him and Tyler... and nothing else...

 _He's... alive... Tyler's alive... At least... I could save one person today.._. Seto thought weakly.

Seto wasn't sure how long he sat there with Tyler, but everything that had happened in the past few hours finally started to catch up with him as his eyes went half-lidded and he slumped over slightly. He gave one last glance at Tyler, whose eyes were closed. Tyler would be fine...

Soon, Seto found himself joining Tyler and drifting off into a deep, deep sleep.

* * *

The room was completely dark, save for the dozens of eerily bright screens that showed various security camera footage.

The masked person stared at Seto and Tyler through the screen in front of them. Even though the knife was still impaled through their right hand, their hands were clenched tightly. Without warning, they smacked their fists angrily on the table and sent more blood gushing from their hand and spilling onto the table. That was when they turned to look at the knife, as though they had just remembered it was there.

The masked person yanked the knife out of their hand and put it aside before finding a nearby Potion of Healing. They lifted up the bottom of the mask slightly so that they could drink it. As they readjusted the smiling mask and placed the empty bottle away, they looked back at the screens. Shifting their gaze from the peacefully sleeping pair, they observed something happening on another screen.

The white mask betrayed no part of their real expression, but its permanently wide smile glowed with a sinister aura from the bright light of the screens.

* * *

Seto wasn't sure how long he slept. In fact, when he woke up, he was so groggy that he couldn't remember where he was or why. Seto groaned as he turned over to the side, closing his eyes again. He... could sleep a little longer. He could afford to sleep in for once, right? It wasn't like anything important had happened-

_"How much longer are you going to sleep?!"_

Seto shrieked in terror as he heard that horrid voice behind him. Suddenly, in that moment, he remembered _everything_ that had happened the night before.

"Geez, took you long enough!" MonoWither complained. "Come on, get up! Your friends are all waiting for you!"

Seto sat up with a jolt as he looked around. "What- Why-?! Why am I in my room?!"

MonoWither tilted their heads curiously. "Why wouldn't you be? Did you have a dream you were in Tyler's room or something?"

Seto shoved the blankets off of him as he slipped on his cloak and hurriedly put on his shoes.

_Tyler! Where are you?! Please be safe, please don't be-!_

"What's the panic for? Seriously, what's gotten into you?" MonoWither asked as they followed Seto out the door.

Seto ran to Tyler's room and knocked frantically. "Tyler?! TYLER!"

"The door isn't locked, you know..."

Seto turned the knob and rushed inside, only to see an empty room. "Wh-What-? Where is he?!"

"Don't you know what time it is?" MonoWither asked.

Seto glanced at the clock and his face paled. "N-Nine?!"

"Yes! It's 9 o'clock! You totally missed a bunch of announcements, that's so unlike you! We got tired of waiting, so we decided to wake you up ourselves!"

"Wh-Where is everyone?" Seto asked.

"Well you weren't answering their calls at all, so we just told them to leave it to us," MonoWither replied.

"But then- Tyler-?"

"Don't worry, Tyler's fine! Most importantly, there's something you have to see right now!"

"...What?" Seto felt chills race up and down his spine.

"Yep! Just follow us! Oh, and please be as quiet as possible before you reach the second floor!"

Seto wanted so badly to ask why, but he couldn't shake off a feeling of dread. Like something had gone terribly wrong...

"You're listening to us? Good! Follow us, please!" MonoWither said before leaving the room. Seto had no choice but to obey. Somehow, he felt like he was missing something...

_What the hell do they want to show me? Where is everyone? I don't see them anywhere..._

_..._

_Why do I feel like... like something_ _horrible's_ _happened while I was asleep?_ _No, it can't be..._

They made their way up the stairs, continuing until they got to the third floor. Then MonoWither flew over to the dance room and activated the sensor to unlock it. "After you!" they beamed as they hovered aside.

Seto glanced at them warily before slowly pushing open the door.

_MonoWither's just joking around,_ _right-?_

Seto suddenly choked out a gasp as the first thing he saw was a massive pool of crimson blood on the floor. For a few moments, he couldn't bring himself to look up. All he could do was just stare at the blood on the floor with wide, dilated pupils. He didn't want to see... the source of all that blood...

Against his will, Seto slowly looked up. What he saw... he couldn't describe.

Out of all the people Seto expected to see hanging from the ceiling among the silver stars, multiple hooks impaling his hands and holding his body up in a crucified position, countless wounds littering his thighs, neck twisted 180 degrees so his face was turned away from him...

...Seto never once thought Jason would ever meet such a horrible, gruesome fate.


	54. Star-Crossed

Even in hard times, Jason had often been the one to offer a smile or make a silly joke to lighten the mood. True, Husky's death had hit him hard, and he had lost his way for awhile, but eventually he had found resolve and forgiven himself. Jason had been one of the few sources of light in this dark, dismal place...

...

_...So why...?_

Seto couldn't stop asking himself this as he stared up at the mangled, bloodied corpse hanging from the ceiling like a butchered scrap of meat.

_...Why...? Why would something like this happen to Jason, of all people...? Why...?_

Seto gasped raggedly as his body finally reacted and he staggered backward, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight. Where was everyone? Why wasn't anyone here?

_"So... There you have it..."_

Seto whirled around to face MonoWither.

"Wow, you totally slept through everything!" MonoWither declared. "We can't believe you didn't hear the body discovery announcement and missed the whole investigation!"

"Wh... What...?" Seto whispered slowly in confusion.

"Yeah, everyone's waiting for you down by the basement! Shame on you, we had to give the MonoWither File to someone else!"

"I- I slept through- What?!" Seto's shock was quickly giving way to panic.

"Yeah, yeah, you slept through it all somehow! While you were taking a little nap, someone went and murdered poor Jason! Isn't it just shocking?! How unexpected!"

"But how-?! What-?!"

"Got any ideas? It surely has to be one of the participants! Maybe... your dark side took over and-"

"That didn't happen!" Seto shrieked. "Slotty didn't do anything! If he did, I would know about it!"

"Ooh, so certain of yourself! But if it isn't him, then who did it?"

"I... I..." Seto stammered frantically as his mind raced without direction.

Who could have done this? Surely it wasn't one of them? Tyler, Bonks, Bodil, Annie... They would never do something like this to Jason, he was certain of it!

"It has to be you!" Seto shouted. "Only you could have done it!"

"Oh?" MonoWither asked, tilting their heads curiously. "Whatever gave you that idea? We would  _never_ interfere with a murder like that! That would ruin the whole point of the show! No one likes staged reality TV episodes!"

"You tried to kill Tyler!" Seto yelled angrily. "That's more than enough proof that you killed Jason! I saved Tyler, so you decided to kill Jason instead! Isn't that right?!"

MonoWither giggled. "So angry! So vicious! But you have no evidence to back up your claim!"

"You- You- You're a horrible  _monster_!" Seto shrieked, tears streaming down his face as he glared at the machine. His vision started to turn red as the pain in his chest started to spread all over his body. "How  _dare_ you?! How  _dare_ you kill Jason?!"

"Woah, are you going to transform?!" MonoWither asked suddenly.

Seto's eyes widened as he realized that a fiery purple aura had surrounded his body. Upon this realization, the aura quickly died down and dissipated.

"Oof, that was a close one! If you had transformed, you might have attacked us and broken a rule!"

Seto clenched his hands into fists, still seething with rage. "I... I'll make sure you  _never_  get away with this..."

"Seriously, how do you even know the masked person was us?" MonoWither asked. "You still haven't proved that! Your accusation is baseless!"

"Who else would have attacked me in that room?" Seto retorted. "Who else would have used the hidden passageway?! It has to be you, the Puppetmaster! And I have Tyler as my witness!"

"Interesting, interesting... Are you sure it wasn't the spy who's still among you all?" MonoWither asked, grinning.

Seto's eyes widened as his face paled.

"Hah! Didn't consider that, huh?! You're all talk and no bite! We'll be perfectly honest with you; as the Puppetmaster of this whole show, we swear on our dead family's bodies that we didn't kill Jason! It was one of the participants of this show! To be precise, it was the spy!"

"You're a filthy liar!" Seto spat back. "There's no way one of us did this! And there's no way one of us is a spy for despair, no matter what you say!"

"Upupupu... If Jason's ghost was able to, he could confirm that we didn't kill him! Unfortunately, he can't, but this is the truth that will certainly be revealed at the trial!"

"No... I refuse to believe you..." Seto hissed. "I'll prove to you that you're the killer, I swear! For Jason's sake, I'll bring the truth to light!"

"Ooh, you're back to your protagonist self! But we promise you're not going to avenge Jason that way! Because we didn't kill Jason, the spy did! And that's what we're sticking to!"

Seto opened his mouth to retort, but MonoWither cut him off.

"Anyway, we've waited long enough! Get your ass moving to the basement! You'll get all the juicy details there!"

Seto glanced back at Jason's body, breathing heavily as he tried to force himself to concentrate... Surely there had to be clues left somewhere?

"Hey Seto, hurry up! It's not our fault you slept through the investigation! That's cheating! Also, take this pill while you're at it!"

Seto flinched as the pill glanced off the side of his head and clattered to the floor.

"Agh, why didn't you catch it?!" MonoWither shrieked.

"Well you just threw it at me, how was I supposed to-"

"Fine then! We guess we'll just have to suppress your magic with a more direct method!"

_*_ _FWIP_ _!*_

"Ah!" Seto cried out, reaching up to his neck and feeling a dart sticking out of it. "What the- Why-?!"

"We are just so tired of you making us wait! So damn tired! Your constant defiance makes us sick to the core! You're so stupid, you would dare continue to defy your gods even after everything you've done? We could kill you right now!"

Seto winced as he tugged the dart out of his neck. "You're crazy... Somehow you've gotten even crazier than before..."

"Huh, we wonder why?" MonoWither asked sarcastically. "Now for the final time, go to the basement so we can start the Show Trial!"

This time, Seto didn't waste any time in leaving the room. MonoWither shut the door behind him somehow. However, it was only then that Seto realized it was the last time he would ever see Jason again...

_Jason... I don't know why anyone would do this to you... something this horrible and cruel... But I'll avenge your death. I'll make sure I bring the truth to light! I'll expose your killer, no matter how hard that task may be!_

* * *

While being closely followed by MonoWither, Seto finally reached the basement and saw everyone else gathered in front of the elevator door. When they turned to look at him, Seto stopped in his tracks. For a few moments, they stared at each other with tear-stained faces, completely silent.

"...You..." Annie muttered under her breath, her body tensing up as she balled her hands into fists.

"A-Annie! Wait!" Bodil cried out, trying unsuccessfully to stop her as she stormed over to Seto so fast, he didn't have time to even defend himself.

Seto gasped as she forcefully seized the front of his cloak with her hands and yanked him closer so that their eyes were mere inches away from each other.

_"Why didn't you keep Slotty under control?!"_  Annie shrieked, shaking Seto violently. "How could you let him do something so horrible to Jason?!"

"I- I didn't-!" Seto choked out desperately, grasping at her hands to no avail. "It wasn't Slotty!"

"You really expect me to believe that?!" Annie shouted back, her green eyes poisoned with a tearful, bitter rage. "All the evidence shows that Slotty did it! It could have only been him!"

"No, stop it!" Tyler wailed. "It wasn't Slotty, I already gave you his alibi!"

"I told you, that alibi doesn't work! He could have easily killed Jason after what you claim he did!" Annie shook Seto again. "Just confess and end this whole thing! It's already decided! The proof is all there!"

"No! I swear it wasn't me- I mean Slotty! I swear he didn't do anything at all last night!"

"And I said I wouldn't believe you!" Annie screamed. "Just admit it already, Slotty killed Jason! MonoWither ordered him to do this!"

"Annie, stop!" Bonks pleaded in anguish. "Please, no matter what happened, we shouldn't be fighting like this!"

"And even if Slotty did it, it's not Seto's fault!" Bodil said. "You can't blame him for denying it!"

"Why aren't you all listening to me?! I have proof Slotty  _didn't_ kill Jason!" Tyler continued to declare.

"P-Please, Annie..." Seto begged in a hoarse voice. "Please believe me... I didn't kill him... Slotty didn't kill him... If he had, I would have admitted it already... Please..."

Annie glared at him, seething through her clenched teeth, before finally shoving Seto away. She didn't say anything, however.

Seto drew in several shaky breaths as he struggled to suppress his overwhelming panic. He hadn't realized that the others would immediately suspect him like that... Had the Puppetmaster made it seem like Slotty had done it?

"Ooh, that argument was pretty dramatic!" MonoWither teased. "Such tension and anger, Annie! That's the kind of despair we  _love_ to see! But let's save that for the trial, shall we?"

"Just hurry up and let us in the damn elevator so we can finish this," Annie muttered in a deadly voice.

"Roger that!" MonoWither flew in front of the scanner, which turned green, and the doors slid open.

Without another word, everyone entered the elevator, which now felt far too large for the five of them.

_...Five..._

Seto flinched as the doors slid shut and the elevator shook for a bit before finally descending down into the dark shaft. However, despite the dim bulb on the ceiling being their only source of light, Seto could feel Annie's eyes still glaring at him, her stare cutting through him like a volley of arrows.

Avoiding her gaze, Seto snuck a glance at everyone else and noticed that Bonks and Bodil were huddled together, unwilling to look at him.

Tyler inched a little bit closer to him and started to whisper. "Don't worry Seto, I have your alibi. We can prove it wasn't you or Slotty..."

Seto barely nodded, knowing that the task would be easier said than done.

Tyler placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "I made a promise, and I'm sticking to it. You wouldn't hide the truth if it meant getting all of us killed, I know that for sure! We'll make sure Jason gets the justice he deserves!"

_...Thank you, Tyler..._ Seto thought, unable to speak at the moment. He glanced briefly at Tyler, noticing that despite the Potion of Healing, Tyler's face was still covered in faint scars...

The elevator finally came to a shuddering stop and opened, revealing the trial room. This time, the walls and floor were checkered light blue and red.

"You guys know the drill! Get to your places! We're starting the trial without any more delays!"

Everyone did as they were told. When Seto reached his place, he couldn't help but cringe when he saw the two newest portraits. Steven's was crossed out by two dragon wings while Jason's had two shooting stars.

"We are here to discuss the murder of Jason, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Electronic Musician. It's time for our Super Duper Minecrafter participants to solve this mystery and find the culprit/culprits of this heinous crime! If they choose correctly, the blackened alone will be punished. But if they choose incorrectly, then they will all be punished, the blackened will be free to leave, and the show will end!"

MonoWither swung the wooden gavel down on the podium and the trial commenced.

"Well, Seto? What's your defense?" Annie asked in an almost empty, defeated voice.

Tyler immediately spoke up. "His alibi is that-"

"I asked Seto."

Everyone apprehensively turned to face him, unsure how he would respond.

Seto sighed. "Before... Before I can answer that, I need to know what happened before and during the investigation."

"Well maybe you wouldn't have had to ask if you were in your room at the time," Annie replied scathingly.

"I was!"

"Oh really? Then why didn't you answer the door when I knocked on it? Why didn't you come out when the body discovery announcement happened?"

"I don't know what happened, for some reason I just-"

"Slept through it all?" Annie interrupted.

Seto went silent.

"That's a more pathetic excuse than I would have expected from you."

Tyler's face turned pale. "I'm telling you, he fought off someone to save me, of course he was tired! I didn't answer the door when you knocked on it either-"

"Well at least you woke up when you heard the damn body discovery announcement. Like any normal person would."

"Annie, it wouldn't hurt to at least explain what happened..." Bonks said softly.

Annie clenched her fists. "...Fine." She turned to Bodil. "You have the MonoWither File, right?"

"Y-Yeah! Here it is!" Bodil rushed over to Seto and gave the tablet to him.

Seto turned it on and the screen lit up to show Jason's silhouette, which showed bloody marks on his hands and legs.

_"The victim is Jason, the Super Duper_   _Minecrafter_ _Level Electronic Musician. He died in the dance room on the third floor at approximately 6 am. There are multiple stabs and slices to both legs, as well as stab wounds through his hands. He was killed when his neck was twisted with violent force, severing his brain stem."_

As Seto continued to read the file, Annie cleared her throat. "I woke up at around 5:30 in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to take a walk outside. I happened to see Jason heading up the stairs, so I asked him what he was doing. He looked kind of embarrassed, but he told me that he was going to the dance room to think by himself. I was afraid something would happen to him, so I said I would stay outside and keep watch for him. I managed to get him to agree, so we went up to the third floor together. He was in the dance room for about... 20 minutes or so when all of a sudden MonoWither showed up..."

* * *

_"Hey Annie! Whatcha doing up so early?" the three-headed machine asked coyly._

_"Go away," Annie muttered._

_"Aw, don't want to chat with us? That's fine! We'll just chat with Jason, then!"_

_Annie's eyes widened as MonoWither flew up to the scanner. "Wait! Stop!" she cried out to no avail as the doors opened._

_Jason was lying on the floor and holding his star to his chest, staring up at the ceiling, before sitting up with a jolt as MonoWither flew through. Annie chased after them._

_"_ _Hellooo_ _, Jason!" MonoWither called out, making Jason scramble to his feet and back away from the machine. "What are you doing up so late, huh? Are you having a secret dance party without us?"_

_"Get out!" Annie shrieked. "Leave him alone!"_

_"But we wanted to join in his grieving moments! After all, we miss Husky too! Too bad he totally failed to keep his promise to Jason, hahaha!"_

_"Shut up! You've said enough! Get out right now!"_

_"Hmph, fine! You're all big meanies anyway..." MonoWither complained, leaving the dance room._

_"Jason, I don't want to rush you, but..." Annie looked around. "I don't know, I have a bad feeling-"_

_"Just a little longer, please?" Jason begged._

_Annie looked like she wanted to object, but sighed. "All right, just a bit longer." With that, she left the room as well, shutting the door behind her._

* * *

Annie's eyes were filled with tears of anguish and frustration as she retold the experience. "I... I should have trusted my instincts... I should have made him leave... If I had, this wouldn't have happened..." She looked up and her gaze hardened as she faced Seto. "I waited for Jason to come out, but he never did. I waited for a long time, probably about 30 minutes, when I finally decided to check on him. I knocked on the door and called out his name, but he didn't answer. I used my e-Handbook to go in, and you can guess what I saw..."

Seto shuddered as he unwillingly recalled the gruesome image of Jason's body hanging there from the ceiling, propped up so disturbingly above the pool of blood beneath him...

"I panicked and ran back to wake everyone up. Bodil and Bonks heard me, but you and Tyler didn't. I showed them the body, and the announcement rang. I guess that's what got Tyler to finally wake up. But for some reason,  _you_  never showed up until way after the investigation was over! And you still haven't given us a proper explanation! Unless you do, you're the obvious culprit of this case! And yes Tyler, I heard your excuse for him, and I don't see how it proves he couldn't have done it! Do you even know what time that incident with the 'masked person' happened?"

"W-Well, um..." Tyler stammered.

"Annie, I know it doesn't sound believable, but I swear I slept through it somehow," Seto murmured. "Just please, hear me out. Listen to me."

"All right, I'm listening." Annie crossed her arms over her chest.

"...I'm not exactly sure when the incident with Tyler happened, but it was probably a few hours before Night Time ended, or maybe even less..."

"So basically, this 'alibi' doesn't work," Annie muttered.

"Not for the murder, no..." Seto replied.

"But the one who killed Jason is obviously the person with the mask!" Tyler declared. "Who else could it possibly be?"

"I guess that's pretty likely, but who is the masked person?" Bonks asked. "And why would they try to kill you?"

Tyler stared down regretfully. "I've been thinking... Maybe if Seto hadn't saved my life, I would be the one dead instead of Jason..."

"S-So you're saying the masked person wanted you to be the target at first?!" Bonks asked, appalled.

"That's exactly what I'm saying! So Slotty isn't the killer because Seto saved me from the masked person!"

"That... does make sense..." Bodil said hesitantly. "I don't know if this is relevant to the case, but can you tell me what the masked person looked like?"

"Um... They had this white mask on... The mask looked really creepy cuz it was smiling..." Tyler recalled slowly.

"A- A white smiling mask?" Bodil stammered.

"They had a black and white cloak on," Seto continued. "The hood of the cloak had these three cones, kind of like a jester hat. They were wearing tall black boots, too."

Bodil gulped, his face extremely pale.

"Bodil? What's wrong?" Bonks asked, concerned.

"I- I've seen someone wearing that before!" Bodil exclaimed.

"What?! You have?!" Annie asked, also shocked.

"When, Bodil?" Seto demanded. "When did you see this person?"

"It- It was when I was still in the infirmary, after I fell down the elevator shaft," Bodil said. "I remember I would wake up sometimes and see that person... operating on me, I think..."

"That had to have been during the third trial," Seto murmured.

"Yes! That means Slotty isn't the killer!" Tyler exclaimed. "Seto was with us the whole time during the third trial! Therefore, he wasn't the one with the mask!"

"But then... who  _was_  the one in the mask? All of us were at the trial, too, except for Bodil..." Bonks asked.

"Eek! I'm not the killer! I swear!" Bodil shrieked.

"We know you're not," Annie muttered. "But... this is definitely strange..."

"I know who's the masked person," Seto muttered. "It's clearly the Puppetmaster themselves."

"Th-That's what I've been thinking too!" Bodil said. "The Puppetmaster must have been the one operating on me!"

"So why would the Puppetmaster kill Jason?" Annie demanded. "Why would they try to kill Tyler?"

"To trick us," Seto murmured. "I think they want us to vote for the wrong person and punish us all."

"You- You really think so?!" Bonks cried out, horrified.

"But why would they want to kill us now?!" Bodil demanded.

"...We're already down to five people now, aren't we?" Seto asked. "Maybe this is how they plan to end the show."

"That makes perfect sense!" Tyler said, exclaimed. "That's totally something the Puppetmaster would do!"

"I... I agree..." Bonks murmured. "MonoWither's gotten so much more... irrational lately."

"Yeah, they would definitely pull something like this off, I'm sure of it!" Bodil said.

Seto felt slightly relieved to see them agree with him. Yes, it was obvious! The Puppetmaster was behind all this! They had wanted everyone to vote for Seto and end the show, but he had shown everyone the truth!

"Well MonoWither? Who do we vote for?!" Tyler asked.

"What? Voting already?" MonoWither asked, tilting their heads curiously. "But one person still doesn't agree with you!"

Seto nervously looked at Annie, who had a shadow covering her stone-cold face as she stared down at the floor.

"...Seto, I know what you're trying to do," she said quietly. "I understand why you're doing this. I'm sorry you have to go this far. Maybe if I was in your shoes, I'd be doing the same thing to protect myself."

"...Annie...?"

"But I can't let you do that. I understand everything about this case except for one thing." She raised her head slightly, revealing anguish and remorse. "Why... am I the one still alive? The killer didn't need to go through so much trouble to sneak in without me noticing... They could have just killed me instead... Why did they kill Jason?"

She gritted her teeth and grasped the wooden podium stand. "I said I would protect him. I knew something might happen, so I wanted to keep watch for him, but I failed. I let him get killed under my watch. It's all my fault the killer got to him! This wouldn't have happened if I'd just been more careful! It's all my fault!" She gasped slightly as tears started spilling from her eyes. "It's all my fault..."

"N-No Annie, it's not your fault..." Tyler began.

"Please don't blame yourself!" Bodil begged.

"You were tricked, there wasn't anything you could have done!" Bonks said.

"There's only one last thing I can do for Jason now," Annie continued, wiping her face with her hands. "One last thing to atone for my mistake. And that's to bring his killer to justice. I won't fail him again! I won't fail my friends ever again! That's a promise I'm going to make! But you..." She pointed a trembling finger at Seto. "...you keep getting in the way! You keep lying to protect yourself! You'd lie, even if it gets the rest of us killed!"

"I'm not lying, Annie!" Seto replied. "I want to protect everyone too-"

_"SHUT UP!"_ Annie screamed, her voice ringing in everyone's ears. "I won't listen to a damn thing you say anymore. Not unless you really prove you're telling the truth! I'll make sure everyone votes correctly!"

"Why do you still believe Seto did it?!" Tyler demanded. "Seto couldn't have been the masked person!"

"Tyler, you said the person drugged you with a Potion of Weakness, right? So how much do you really remember?" Annie asked.

"...I remember seeing the masked person... standing by my bed with a knife..." Tyler began hesitantly, grasping his trembling hands and wringing them. "They started cutting my face and hands... and I couldn't move at all because of the potion. They had tied my hands together too for some reason. My vision was fading in and out. I thought I was a goner, but then the masked person suddenly left the side of my bed... I heard Seto yelling, I think. The next thing I knew, the masked person was gone. Seto must have fought them off. He untied my hands and used a Healing Potion for my wounds... He stayed with me... And then I fell asleep..."

"Did you actually see them fight?" Annie asked. "And don't bother trying to lie. You won't help anyone if you do."

Tyler flinched as the blood drained from his face. "I... Um..."

"I fought them off, Annie," Seto said. "Tyler just couldn't see because he couldn't move."

"Well you can't prove that, can you?" Annie retorted.

Seto bit his lip.

"But there's no way Seto could have been the one in the mask, right?" Bonks asked. "Because... why would he change his mind and kill Jason instead of Tyler-"

"You're right about that. That's why I think  _Slotty_ was the one in the mask," Annie muttered.

"Slotty?" Bonks asked, her eyes widening.

"No, that's totally wrong!" Tyler shouted. "Seto was in the trial while Bodil was operated on, right?"

"When did we ever prove that the masked person Bodil saw and the masked person you saw were the same one?" Annie countered.

"Wh-What are you talking about?! Of course they were!" Tyler said.

"As if it's impossible for two people to wear the same disguise," Annie muttered. "Since Slotty is the Puppetmaster's servant, this cooperation is not impossible at all. Am I wrong?"

"...I... guess it's possible..." Bodil said hesitantly.

_Annie, stop it! This is the Puppetmaster's trap! But how can I stop her? I can't disprove anything she's saying!_

"MonoWither could have easily summoned Slotty while Seto was asleep and told him to wear the disguise and kill you. Then during the murder attempt, Seto returned and took off the disguise to heal you. Then he went back to his room, only to have Slotty be summoned again to kill Jason instead."

"... It's horrible, but I can see that happening..." Bonks murmured, shuddering a little.

"But why wouldn't Slotty just try killing Tyler again?" Seto asked. "Tyler would have still been weakened by the potion. It doesn't make sense why the target would change just because I stopped it once."

"Who knows? MonoWither might have just changed their mind! After all, they helped Slotty get into the dance room without me noticing!"

"And where's your proof of that?" Tyler asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Slotty had some invisibility spell on him or something like that. How else could he have gotten into that room undetected? When MonoWither went in, they were actually opening the door for Slotty so that he could sneak in and kill Jason!"

"But when would he have left?" Bodil asked, confused.

"He could have done it anytime after I found the body," Annie replied. "Well? Is there anything that contradicts what I just said?"

"B-Bonks? Bodil?" Tyler asked nervously, turning to face them. "What do you guys think? Don't you believe in Seto still?"

The two of them flinched and drew into themselves, glancing around uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry Seto, I- I really,  _really_ want to believe you, please understand, but..." Bonks winced and looked away. "...I don't know who else would be able to position a dead body like that in such a short amount of time... Someone would have to have a lot of strength, and..." Her voice sank even lower as she subconsciously reached for her neck. "...you almost killed me by twisting my neck, didn't you... Slotty probably knows that method, too..."

"Yeah, that's another thing! None of us here are capable of twisting someone's neck like that!" Annie pointed out. "The killer would need superhuman strength! Strength that could have been from magic!"

"The masked person also had magic. They used it when we fought," Seto said.

"And as I just said, we can't prove you're not making that up!" Annie replied.

"Well, what if that wasn't the killing blow?" Tyler countered. "What if he died instead from those stabs in his legs and the killer twisted his neck after he was dead! Wouldn't it be easier then?"

"No, Jason died from his neck being twisted," Seto murmured.

"S-Seto?!" Tyler exclaimed, shocked.

_"So you'd actually refuse to lie about the facts of the case, even though it further implicates you as the culprit..."_ MonoWither suddenly said. "Wow! That's our noble Seto for you!"

" _Our_ noble Seto?!" Annie echoed.

_...MonoWither clearly wants me to look suspicious here..._ _Annie, you're doing what they want! Please stop!_

"H-How do you know Jason died from the neck being twisted?!" Bodil stammered.

"The wounds on his legs are postmortem. I won't go into detail, but it's clear they occurred after he died," Seto murmured.

"I don't know much about dead bodies, but... I've heard that wounds that are inflicted after death don't bleed as much..." Bonks murmured. "But there was so much blood at the scene..."

"With the way his body was positioned, gravity would have made the cuts bleed more," Seto replied. "I suspect that was why they put so many wounds in Jason's legs even though he was already dead. The culprit was twisted enough to want a more bloody scene. They might have wanted us to think that someone had tortured him to death, when in reality his death was mostly immediate."

"I was wondering why his legs were cut so much..." Tyler mumbled.

"So with everything said, isn't it too obvious?" Seto asked, forcing himself to keep his voice steady.

"What's too obvious?" Bonks said.

"If Slotty is the killer like you claim... Isn't it too obvious? Why would MonoWither make Slotty commit such an obvious crime?"

"In case you haven't noticed, MonoWither hasn't been the most rational lately!" Annie retorted. "Maybe that was the whole point! Maybe they just didn't care and wanted a death as soon as possible!"

"Well- Well how do we know Seto's theory isn't the right one?" Tyler countered.

"You keep asking for proof, Annie," Seto said softly. "But you haven't disproved my theory yet."

"No, I haven't. But I think my theory has more logic behind it! The Puppetmaster killing someone themselves? Why would they do that now? If they failed to actually kill someone, they could have been caught or apprehended! Would they really take the chance to leave wherever they're hiding and kill someone all for the sake of ending the show? How do we even know the Puppetmaster is in this building with us?!"

Annie glared at Seto.

"Well? Do you have any more objections?"

Seto didn't reply. He had to think of something else to save himself and prevent them from voting the wrong person. But how? He couldn't think of anything, no matter how hard he thought. Perhaps, he could-

_**"CUT!"** _

Everyone flinched as they turned to face MonoWither, who had risen from their throne.

"Cut, cut! We're running out of time for this episode, so it's time to vote!"

"What?! Now?!" Bodil shrieked.

"We barely got started!" Bonks wailed.

"Yeah, we still haven't convinced everyone who the killer is!" Tyler snapped.

"Too bad, so sad! Just vote for the top suspect! We just want to get the execution over and done with so we can get on with the show! We'd hate to just end it on Part 05!"

Seto's eyes widened in sudden realization. MonoWither wasn't going to kill everyone and end the show. No, they were going to frame him for the murder and execute him because he had spied too much! This was MonoWither's goal all along! How had he been so stupid this whole time and not noticed?!

"Hold on a minute!" Annie shouted. "When did we ever have a time limit?!"

"Well thanks to Seto, who was super late for some reason, our patience has worn thin! Go on, vote!"

"This is bullshit," Seto whispered. "MonoWither, I can't believe you'd actually do this..."

MonoWither cackled. "Come on Seto, don't blame us! This is all your fault! Unless you can come up with a convincing argument, your fate is sealed! Now hurry up and vote, you all have 60 seconds to come to a decision or everyone dies! 60! 59! 58! 57...!"

Everyone looked around, panicking wildly.

"Who do we vote for?!" Bodil cried out.

"I don't know what to do!" Bonks screamed.

Annie sweated nervously as she stared at the screen in front of her, completely silent.

_Unless you can come up with a convincing argument, your fate is sealed!_

Seto's mind was racing wildly. No, he couldn't die here! He had to do something! He had to prevent them from voting for him no matter what! He had so much valuable information, information that could save them all, he couldn't die here and leave everyone else to fend for themselves! But what the hell could he do?!

Seto glanced at Tyler, who was staring at him with shock. Suddenly, a horrible idea sank its way into Seto's mind like a lurking disease. There  _was_  one thing he could do...

But could he really do it? Would it be the right thing?

Seto's heart pounded in his chest as time continued ticking...

_1\. Accuse Tyler_ (Go to "Option 1")  
 _2\. Keep denying_  (Go to "Option 2")


	55. Option 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
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> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
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> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
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> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)

 

_**> 1\. Accuse Tyler** _   
_2\. Keep denying_

_I can't die here..._

_I can't let MonoWither get what they want..._

_I can't let CODIE's sacrifice be in vain..._

_I... must survive... for everyone else's sake..._

_Even if I have to sacrifice... him..._

"...Tyler..."

"Y-Yeah?" Tyler asked, confused.

"...It was you, wasn't it?" Seto asked, forcing himself to look at Tyler directly.

Tyler flinched and looked around. "Wh-What? What was me?"

"You used the invisibility potion I gave you... Right...?"

"What invisibility potion?" Bonks asked, her eyes widening.

"The day after the potion room opened... I made Tyler an invisibility potion as a gift..." Seto murmured.

"I- I didn't use it-!" Tyler stammered frantically. "I promise-! I still have it-!"

"Then can you show us?" Annie asked.

"Y-Yeah- Here- Here it is-!" Tyler fumbled for awhile before finally pulling out the flask from his pocket. "See, I didn't use it!"

"Why is it only half full?" Seto asked, forcing his voice to remain steady.

"Wh-?" Tyler glanced at it briefly before turning back. "It was already like that!"

"No, it wasn't. I filled it up to the top. So that means you used some of it..."

"Tyler, is this true?" Bodil asked, his voice trembling.

"No of course not- I- I-!" Tyler stared at Seto, terrified, before realization dawned on his face.

_"Seto... I promise I'll always trust you, no matter what..."_

Tyler gulped down his objection and went silent.

"Oh my god... Don't tell me..." Bonks whispered. "Tyler...?"

"Seto... are you suggesting that Tyler used the Invisibility Potion to sneak in and kill Jason?" Annie asked, stunned.

"I... I am..."

"Then what about Tyler's alibi?" Annie asked. "Tyler, didn't you tell us that you were struck with a Potion of Weakness by the masked person?"

"It's true that that happened... But a Potion of Weakness wouldn't have lasted that long," Seto lied.

"It wouldn't?" Bodil asked.

"Yeah... I thought it was strange at first, but I just... chose to ignore it..." It took all of Seto's willpower to keep going. He was doing the right thing, he was thinking about the safety of everyone! He couldn't let MonoWither win, of course a sacrifice had to be made!

"But how did Tyler kill Jason like that?" Bonks asked. "Didn't we agree that the killer had to have superhuman strength?"

"Yeah, I don't think Tyler is able to do all that!" Bodil declared.

"Normally he wouldn't. But if he had a Potion of Strength, he could," Seto said.

Annie narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Seto, are you seriously going to go this far? I don't believe you one bit! Why would Tyler break Jason's neck? He could have just used any weapon and it would have been much easier! And why would he do all that to Jason's body?!"

"He didn't just want to break Jason's neck or hang him on the hooks. He also wanted to frame me and make it seem very obvious that Slotty did it. After all, if Slotty had done it, why would MonoWither not tell him to hide the evidence as much as possible? Why would Slotty implicate himself and become an obvious killer? I doubt that's something MonoWither would want..."

Annie was actually taken aback. "Are you... are you actually telling the truth...?"

Seto couldn't bring himself to look at anyone anymore, but he could practically feel Tyler's eyes boring into him as Tyler stared at him with shock and confusion.

"Tyler, what do you have to say for yourself?" Annie asked, turning to him desperately.

"I- I-! I don't know, I-!"

"Tyler, please say something!" Bonks begged.

"I can't believe you're the killer!" Bodil shouted.

"Hey come on, weren't we suspecting Seto just now?!" Tyler suddenly shrieked. "Why are you all suspecting me?! Are you all stupid?! How could I be the killer when Seto clearly looks more guilty than me!"

"Weren't you defending him just now?!" Annie said, shocked.

"Well I didn't go through all this goddamn trouble just to get accused of being the killer!"

"The trouble... of what?" Annie asked, her tone turning icy as her suspicion raised.

Tyler's eyes widened as he covered his mouth, appearing like he had just made a horrible mistake.

"T-Tyler?" Bonks stuttered, horrified.

Bodil looked sick to his stomach. "No... It can't be..."

Tyler looked like he desperately wanted to object legitimately, but he was holding back. Despite everything, Tyler was actually making himself look suspicious for Seto's sake. Why would Tyler trust him so much? Seto couldn't figure it out, but he knew that he couldn't question it. He had hoped Tyler would stay true to his word, and sure he enough, he was...

Tyler bit his lip, glancing at Seto nervously. "I... I didn't do it..." he mouthed so that no one else could hear. "You know that, right...?"

Was he having doubts about his trust? Or was he afraid that Seto genuinely thought he was the killer? Whatever it was, Seto didn't reply. Instead, a dark look crossed Seto's face. "I... I didn't want to accuse him at all... I actually considered staying silent so he could live... I trusted him so much, but he took advantage of my trust... I think with all the lies Tyler has told so far, the answer is clear."

"S-Seto?" Tyler asked desperately, reeling with shock and disbelief. "Seto, I didn't-! You know I didn't-! I wouldn't kill Jason! Seto!"

Seto ignored him as he gripped the lever and selected Tyler's name. He was doing this for everyone, he was doing the right thing overall! This was the right choice!

"Seto, please! I didn't do it!" Tyler begged, looking around and realizing with horror that everyone was voting as well. "No no no! Stop!"

Suddenly, the familiar golden slot machine emerged from the center and its three spots spun wildly before stopping at Tyler's face. Confetti burst from the machine as the words "GUILTY" flashed on top of the machine.

"No- No way..." Tyler whispered, shaking his head slowly, reeling from shock and disbelief. "You guys... You all..."

No one could look Tyler in the face or say a single word. After all, none of them had been certain about their impulsive and forced decision.

"Congratulations!" MonoWither whooped, spinning around. "You've done it again! Fifth time in a row!"

"What?!" Tyler shrieked. "No no no, this is all wrong- No! I didn't kill Jason!"

"I'm sorry Tyler," Seto murmured, finally unable to stop his voice from shaking. "I'm... I'm so sorry... This is all my fault... You have no one to blame but me, and I don't expect you to ever forgive me..."

"What are you talking about?" Tyler whispered, absolutely stunned. "Seto, I don't understand what's going on!"

"I'm sorry Tyler... I didn't know how else to save everyone..."

"But-!"

"Yadda yadda, boo hoo, betrayal is great but we're just delaying the best part! You've been a long-time surviving character in this show, Tyler, but unfortunately it's time for you to say bye-bye to everyone!"

"Wait! We still don't know why he did it!" Annie demanded.

"There are too many holes! I don't understand anything!" Bodil wailed.

"Please, at least let us hear from him!" Bonks begged.

"No! We're getting all of this out before the commercial break!" MonoWither snarled before composing themselves. "Ahem. Now then, we've prepared a very special punishment for Tyler, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Drama Actor! What do you have to say to that, Tyler, any last words for the viewers?!"

To everyone's surprise, Tyler smiled as he turned to Seto. "It's all right. After all..."

_"...I promised I'd trust you, right?"_

Seto couldn't reply as he stared back at him in shock. Those words, those last six simple words, they had brutally torn a hole in his heart that he was certain he could never repair.

"We'll see if you keep smiling like that during the punishment!" MonoWither laughed cruelly before slamming a wooden gavel on the red button.

Tyler grinned widely, laughing a little, as he looked around with bulging eyes. The sweat on his face and the way he was trembling betrayed his fear, however. Seto's face paled as he unconsciously raised his hand towards him, as though to touch him one last time...

* * *

**(A/N: Execution music:** [youtube.com/watch?v=c6aQlGLPG4Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6aQlGLPG4Q) **)**

**SHOW'S OVER: TYLER HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY. TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!**

Suddenly, a metal claw emerged behind Tyler, latched around his neck, and pulled him back. Tyler shrieked as he reached his arm out desperately before he was dragged through the dark hallway, his body skidding across the floor. The door slid shut, blocking him from view.

For awhile, there was silence as the TV screen remained off. Then everyone backed up as it finally turned on, showing red curtains with golden linings. Crimson roses were thrown at the curtains before they spread apart to reveal a table sitting on a tall platform. This platform was right above the center of a huge, seemingly bottomless pit. Suddenly, multiple spotlights flashed on to focus on what looked like there was a certain someone cuffed to the table in a spread-eagled position.

**The Actor's Super Duper Grand Finale**

The camera view changed to show a bird's eye view. Tyler was still smiling slightly, although he struggled against the metal cuffs on his wrists and ankles to no avail. Then, a horrible whirring sound filled the air and shifted from left to right. Tyler's eyes bulged even further as a shadow appeared on his body and moved in the same horizontal oscillation as that of the sound. The camera slowly panned upward before speeding up and turning around to show a long metal pole with a large, razor-sharp, spinning saw blade attached to the end swinging down towards Tyler. The saw blade was painted in a black-and-white hypnotic swirl as it spun wildly, cutting through the air as easily as a hot knife through butter.

The pendulum descended at a rapid pace as drums started to pound to the same rhythm as everyone's heartbeats. The camera shifted back to show a bird's eye view of Tyler, whose grin widened as his eyes fixated on the rapidly approaching buzz saw. The sounds were deafening, only heightening the anxious tension. Tyler's chest started to heave faster and faster, and his pale face turned a dark shade of red before purpling.

The buzz saw was so much closer now, so close that the poor man's hair and clothes were blown side-to-side by the wind. Tyler started to giggle as he continued squirming on the table and straining at the immovable cuffs. Seto had never seen someone smile like this before meeting their inevitable doom, but he recognized the familiar look in Tyler's eyes of someone who was utterly terrified of dying.

During the last possible moments, Tyler shut his eyes tightly as two tear tracks leaked out and streamed down his smiling face...

Everyone looked away instead of Seto, but they could all still hear the terrible, terrible sound of metal ripping through flesh and Tyler's agonized screams that lasted far too long before they finally died off. The buzz saw audibly slowed down before finally coming to a halt.

There was a stock sound of uproarious applause as screen faded to black and the word  _Fin_  appeared. A few credits scrolled up, all but one crediting MonoWither for various parts of the production...

_Starring:_

_Tyler Christie- as himself_

* * *

His whole face emotionless and his mind numb with shock, Seto collapsed to his knees, his eyes still fixated on the black screen. Tears streamed down his face, but he just felt empty and lifeless, for that hole in his heart that Tyler had left in him was still there...

"TYLER!" Bonks shrieked, sobbing in anguish.

"He- He didn't deserve that!" Bodil shouted, also crying. "That was horrible!"

"That was just overkill..." Annie whispered, visibly shaken by the whole ordeal.

"No it wasn't, it was perfect for the Drama Actor! We will admit, he indeed kept smiling, but we wonder what those final tears meant! Still, we'd say it was an Oscar-worthy performance, but unfortunately, it would have to be given posthumously... Wait a minute, if this is a show, wouldn't it be an Emmy Award?"

Bonks continued to wail inconsolably and Annie and Bodil rushed to comfort her.

"Oh come on, no need to cry! You should be glad! You all survived the fifth and  _final_  trial of this wonderful show!" MonoWither exclaimed.

The shock was enough to make Bonks quiet somewhat as the three of them turned to face MonoWither.

"Wh-What did you say?" Bodil asked, almost unwilling to believe it.

"You heard us! This is the final trial! Well, to be more specific, we're putting a stop to our enforcement of the killing part of this show! Therefore, there will be no more motives! All of you can live peacefully without having to think about killing ever again! Unfortunately, you'll all have to stay here forever, but it's not so bad! We have so many great things here, right?"

"That's... that's too good to be true..." Annie murmured. "We can really live in peace?"

"No more killing? No more deaths?" Bodil asked faintly.

"Yep! Congratulations, everyone! You've all achieved victory!" Tons of confetti spewed out from the walls. "We think killing's getting old, so it's time for a new direction for this show!"

"This is what we've wanted this whole time..." Annie whispered.

"We're finally free... free of despair..." Bodil said, still in disbelief.

Bonks finally sniffled and wiped her tears. "It- It feels so, so wrong to be saying this after what just happened... but I'm glad..."

Seto continued to stare at the screen emptily. The way the saw had just torn through Tyler's body... The blood... The  _scream_...

Seto felt an overwhelming, painful sensation swell inside of him and build up against his throat. The feeling forced Seto to bow forward and collapse, pressing his arms and forehead against the ground.

_"I promised I'd trust you, right?"_

Seto couldn't hold back the flood anymore. There was no reason for restraint. There was no reason for anything anymore. Whatever sense of dignity, strength, and hope in Seto had died with Tyler in that execution, and he didn't care whether he got it back or not. After all, he was never getting  _him_ back...

The dam burst as Seto clenched his hands into fists and  _screamed._ The raw scream that tore through his throat was primal, tormented, and agonized. It seemed to last forever. When his throat finally couldn't take it anymore and the scream died down, Seto shut his eyes tightly as he sobbed hysterically, unable to do anything but just kneel there and wail in anguish, letting his cries shake his entire body.

His three remaining friends slowly approached him, kneeling down beside him. Bonks rested a gentle hand on his shoulder while Annie and Bodil told him comforting things that his shattered mind couldn't register.

Finally, Seto's wails faded into low, ragged gasps for air. All of his emotions were gone, they had spilled from that hole in his heart, and only icy numbness was left inside of him. He was too weak to move, too weak to feel, too weak to do anything but just kneel there submissively under the television screen. The hot tears staining his face started to cool.

_I... I told you, Tyler... I told you it was to save everyone... and that's exactly what I did... I did the right thing... You... were right to trust me... I didn't... betray you... in the end_ _..._

* * *

**TWELVE YEARS LATER**

_"Daddy, wake up!"_

Seto jolted awake and sat up, breathing heavily as he searched in the darkness, dimly aware that two figures were sitting on each side of him. "Who's there?! Show yourselves!"

"It's just us, Daddy..." a little girl whimpered.

"S-Sorry for waking you up..." a little boy muttered.

Realization swept though Seto like a flash of lightning. "Oh!" Seto quickly turned on the light and saw that he was between two small children. They were clearly the same age and a bit too short, but the girl had bright pink eyes, short russet hair, and very faint freckles on her cheeks while the boy looked more like a humanoid orchid mantis with doleful brown eyes and brown hair.

Seto smiled at them as he spread his arms. The kids immediately cuddled up on each side, letting Seto hold them tightly. "Good morning..." he murmured, kissing them each on the forehead. "What time is it?"

The girl giggled. "It's noon!"

Seto's eyes widened. "What? Skylar, are you serious? I slept that late?"

"Mmhmm..." Skylar nuzzled into her father's shoulder affectionately. "Auntie Annie told us to let you sleep in, but you missed Uncle Bodil's breakfast! He made really good scrambled eggs!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry I missed those..."

Seto turned to face the boy, who was leaning against Seto's shoulder but lost in thought. "Svenn?" he asked. "Is something bothering you?"

"N-No..." Svenn mumbled, staring down into space.

"He's been like this all day!" Skylar said. "It's all because of what MonoWither said to him!"

"I told you not to tell Daddy!" Svenn shouted.

"Daddy said no keeping secrets!" Skylar retorted.

"But you pinkie-promised!"

"I crossed my fingers!"

Seto sighed. "Please, don't fight. You are seven years old, you're big kids now, and big kids don't fight. Skylar, do not make a promise you aren't planning to keep, even if you cross your fingers. Svenn, apologize for yelling at your sister."

Svenn already looked regretful. "Sorry..."

"Now, what is this about MonoWither?" Seto asked.

"They're really mean!" Skylar shouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"They're always mean, that's why you shouldn't listen to them," Seto said. "What did they say?"

"They said-"

Seto raised a hand. "No, let Svenn speak."

Svenn shifted nervously.

"It's okay. Whatever they said, it's not true-"

"Who's Tyler?" Svenn asked.

Seto's breath hitched as his whole body stiffened at the mention of that name.

"Svenn, Auntie Annie and Uncle Bodil told us not to ask Daddy!" Skylar scolded.

"But Daddy was talking about him in his sleep, too! I just wanna know!"

Seto somehow managed to recollect himself. "Settle down," he murmured. "Tyler was a... a friend I once had. Why?"

Svenn stared down at his lap again. "MonoWither... said that you killed him... and a lot of other people..."

"M-MonoWither's a l-liar!" Skylar insisted shakily. "Daddy would n-never kill anyone! Bad people kill and Daddy isn't a bad person!"

Seto closed his eyes. "What else did they say?"

Svenn suddenly looked away, his body shaking as he started to sniffle.

"S-Svenn?!" Seto cried out, letting go of Skylar and gripping his son's shoulders. "Oh no, don't cry!" he begged, wiping some of the tears away with his thumbs. "It's okay, everything's going to be okay-"

"I'm- I'm sorry for killing Mommy-!" Svenn sobbed. "Please don't kill us!"

Seto flinched and his face paled. "What?" he whispered.

"W-We didn't kill Mommy!" Skylar shrieked, also crying. "Right, Daddy?!"

"Oh god, of course you didn't..." Seto said, magically reaching for a nearby tissue box and wiping their faces. "No, don't you ever think it was your fault, you didn't kill her..."

"But- But she died because she had us!" Svenn wailed. "So it  _is_  all our fault! The wrong person lived!"

"No, no, listen to me you two..." Seto hugged them both tightly. "Listen to Daddy, you didn't kill Mommy. Sometimes, these things happen to mothers, but that doesn't mean it's your fault. Why, the same thing happened to my mother, your grandmother, when she had me. I'm sure that wherever Mommy is, she still loves you and doesn't blame you."

"But you loved her, right Daddy?" Svenn asked.

"Of course, more than anything else."

"And- And because of us, she died..." Svenn's voice dropped to a low whisper. "Do you think about killing us because you hate us?"

"No!" Seto cried out. "Of course not! I love you two, you mean everything to me, I would never hurt you!"

"But MonoWither said you loved Tyler too, but you killed him anyway!"

Seto breathed heavily, trying to stay level-headed. That name... He didn't want to hear it ever again. He already hadn't for so many years...

"It's true..." he murmured softly. "I did kill him."

Skylar gasped. "What?!"

"But please, please understand I didn't want to do it. I only did it because I had to. He had to die so I, your mother, and your aunt and uncle could live. And if we weren't alive, we would never have had you. Sometimes... we do wrong things for the right reasons. Do you get it?"

"I don't get it," Svenn admitted.

"...I think I do?" Skylar said confusedly.

"I'll explain more when you're older," Seto replied. "But for now, please promise me..." Seto kissed them again. "Don't listen to MonoWither again, okay? I would never let anything hurt you. I love you so much, and you didn't do anything wrong."

"We promise..." the two children murmured, hugging him back.

"Good."

There were a few moments of silence before Svenn broke it.

"Why can't we just kill MonoWither?"

Seto felt his skin crawl. "What?"

"Yeah, there's... five of us and one of them! So we have four more people than they do!" Skylar exclaimed.

"We could easily beat them up!" Svenn boasted. "Our magic is getting stronger every day!"

Seto could almost hear Annie sarcastically say, "Oh really, I didn't notice..." as she cleaned up a mess they had accidentally made.

"No, we can't kill MonoWither. It's too dangerous, we've said this before. We could all get seriously hurt," Seto chided.

"But they're so mean!" Svenn complained.

"And they keep us safe," Seto reminded them. "You don't bite the hand that feeds you."

"But you're wrong, MonoWither doesn't have hands!" Skylar pointed out.

"It's a metaphor, sweetie. Anyway, let's not talk about MonoWither anymore, shall we? Let's talk about something else! What else did you two do this morning?"

"Oh! Oh! Show him the drawing!" Skylar said, shaking Svenn's shoulder excitedly.

Seto smiled. "What did you draw this time?"

Svenn cringed. "It's really bad..."

"No it's not!" Skylar yelled.

"I'd like to see it, I love your art," Seto said.

Svenn blushed before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. "Um... I was gonna throw it away..."

Seto carefully uncrumpled the paper and smoothed it out before looking at it. "...It's a lovely drawing!" he said, grinning as he pointed at six figures holding hands. "That looks so much like us!"

"Th-Thank you..."

"And you've drawn the flowers and the grass so well, is that why you were in the greenhouse so much yesterday?"

"Yeah..."

Then Seto's grin wavered slightly. "Um... What are these?" he asked, pointing at a row of three thick brown blocks with tiny circles of green on top of them.

"They're trees!" Skylar answered for Svenn.

"I know they're supposed to be brown with green leaves..." Svenn said slowly. "Do they look that bad?"

"No, no, it's just... Maybe more leaves next time?"

"But won't too many leaves make the tree fall down? I thought that's why the trees you can see outside the greenhouse were fake!"

Seto chuckled slightly. "No, it won't. Now, what's this?" He pointed at a tall pink rectangle that towered above everything else.

"That's our home!" Svenn said. "It's a bit smaller than this one, but I think it's small enough!"

"I want our home to be pink! Pink is the best color!"

"I like pink too, but... What does this all mean?"

Svenn's face fell slightly. "I... I just wondered what it would be like to live outside..."

Seto stared at the drawing, unable to look away.

"I know you said we can't, but... I really want to..."

"It would be really cool..." Skylar said, sighing in yearning.

A tear slid down Seto's cheek, but he quickly wiped it away before they could see. "Oh... Don't think about what it's like outside... Everything here is so much better, you know? Outside, we'd never be able to eat your uncle's food! No microwave or oven!"

"No!" both children cried out.

"And you wouldn't like trees, they're filled with those gross bugs you hate!"

"Ew, disgusting!" Skylar shrieked.

"I can handle bugs!" Svenn boasted.

"Well, there are dangerous, scary monsters... Monsters that come out at night and can hurt you very badly... One kind will even kill you with their sharp claws and teeth if you look at them in the eyes, even if it's an accident."

Svenn shivered, suddenly not so brave anymore. "R-Really?"

"Yes, really. So don't think about going outside, because here you can be safe and live happily..."

To Seto's surprise, the two twins hugged him without further protest.

"Okay, Daddy..." Svenn said finally. "We _promise_ we won't think about going outside..."

"If you say the outside is bad, then it's bad!" Skylar said. "We  _trust_  you, Daddy! We  _trust_  you because we  _love_  you!"

Seto found himself unable to speak as he let go of the drawing, slowly wrapped his arms around them, and pulled them close, staring forward blankly.

_"...Daddy, why are you crying?"_

**PART 05- BLEW DOWN THE DOORS / and boxed us in**

**END**

**STILL ALIVE: 6 - 3 = 3 PARTICIPANTS**

**ITEM GET! You acquired the present "Son's Drawing"**

(It appears you chose the bad ending. Oops! Maybe the first option isn't always the best! But don't worry, it's not too late. Would you like to see the True Ending? If so, proceed to Option 2... (aka the next chapter))

(...unless you actually like this ending. Or you're tired of this story and just wanted to reach the earliest possible ending. Then I guess you don't have to see Option 2... It's all your choice! Is this really the ending you want, though?)


	56. Option 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
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> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
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> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
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> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
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> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
> 
> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
> 
> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
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> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
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> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)
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> (A/N: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ "STAR-CROSSED" FIRST.)

 

_1\. Accuse Tyler_   
_**> 2\. Keep denying** _

Despite his fear, Seto swallowed down his objection. No, it wouldn't be right to frame Tyler. He couldn't take advantage of his trust like that. Besides, who knew what MonoWither would do if Seto wasn't the one everyone voted for? It was too risky for everyone else.

Everyone looked around, panicking wildly.

"Wait, it can't be Slotty! It can't be!" Seto insisted.

"But who else could it be?!" Bodil countered.

"The Puppetmaster themselves! They're the one who put on a disguise and killed Jason!"

"Wh-What?!" Bonks cried out. "Why would they do that?!"

"The Puppetmaster's framing me! They want me to die so that I can't find out who they are and stop them!"

"Do you expect us to believe that?!" Annie yelled.

"Please, I'm telling the truth!" Seto shouted. "I'm begging you, please believe me! If I die here, you'll never escape this place!"

"If we vote for Seto, he'll get killed!" Tyler pleaded. "We can't vote for him!"

"And if we don't, the rest of us will!" Annie shouted back.

Seto slammed his hands on the podium stand, sweat covering his face. His usually-composed voice had risen into a desperate, hysterical shriek. "It's not me, I swear it's not me! This is a set-up, this whole trial's been strange from the start! The Puppetmaster put the time limit so you'd all vote for me! Please,  _trust me_!"

 _"15 seconds left!"_ MonoWither called out.

Before Seto could continue, everyone except for Tyler pulled their levers and cast their votes.

"No!" Seto cried out, horrified.

"Ahh-!" Tyler shrieked before looking around, terrified out of his mind. "It's not Seto, it's not Seto! You all voted wrong!"

"The clock is ticking, Tyler!" MonoWither mocked. "You'd better make your vote, and fast! You've only got 10 seconds left!"

Tyler glanced at Seto, his eyes welling up with tears, before he shut them tightly and pulled the lever, making his choice.

Suddenly, the familiar golden slot machine emerged from the center and its three spots spun wildly before stopping at Seto's face. Confetti burst from the machine as the words "GUILTY" flashed on top of the machine.

"No... no way..." Seto whispered, backing away slightly as he stared at everyone. None of them could meet his gaze. In fact, they all looked guilty, even Annie.

"Congratulations!" MonoWither whooped, spinning around. "You've done it again! Fifth time in a row! Well, not Tyler, unfortunately... What in the world were you thinking, voting for yourself?"

Tyler's eyes were wide open in terror. "It's not... him..."

"Your denial, as always, is entertaining to watch! But you're wrong. Slotty is the one who murdered Jason, and Seto's the unlucky bastard who has to pay for this crime as well!"

"No! You're lying!" Seto shrieked, abandoning all composure. "You're a coward, you framed me so that you could stop me from helping everyone!"

"Why do you keep saying that?!" Bonks cried out.

"Tsk tsk, Seto,  _you're_  the one who's lying!" MonoWither sneered. "You can't keep hiding the truth from everyone! Face it, you lost control of Slotty and let him kill one of your friends!"

"It's not true! Where's your proof? I won't accept this unless you show proof!"

MonoWither's three eyes gleamed. "Proof? No need to ask any further... Here's your proof!"

* * *

_The television screens flickered on to show the dance room, where Jason was lying on the floor and holding his star to his chest, staring up at the ceiling. Suddenly, he sat up with a jolt as the doors opened and MonoWither flew through, chased by Annie._

_"_ _Hellooo_ _, Jason!" MonoWither called out, making Jason scramble to his feet and back away from the machine. "What are you doing up so late, huh? Are you having a secret dance party without us?"_

_"Get out!" Annie shrieked. "Leave him alone!"_

_"But we wanted to join in his grieving moments! After all, we miss Husky too! Too bad he totally failed to keep his promise to Jason, hahaha!"_

_"Shut up! You've said enough! Get out right now!"_

_"Hmph, fine! You're all big meanies anyway..." MonoWither complained, leaving the dance room._

_"Jason, I don't want to rush you, but..." Annie looked around. "I don't know, I have a bad feeling-"_

_"Just a little longer, please?" Jason begged._

_Annie looked like she wanted to object, but sighed. "All right, just a bit longer." With that, she left the room as well, shutting the door behind her._

_Jason exhaled deeply and closed his eyes, relaxing a little. However, he tensed once more when a reddish glow covered the walls. "Wh-What's going on?" he asked shakily, looking around. "Annie?"_

_That was when_  he  _appeared in front of him. Morphing out of thin air, so it seemed, Slotty raised a magical staff and grinned at him. "Hey, Jason!"_

_"H-Hey... Slotty..." Jason gulped and started to back away. "How did you get in here?"_

_"Aw, I don't really think that's important. What's really important is that Master asked me to do something!"_

_"Oh- Oh really? What's that?" Jason's eyes darted to the door, which was unfortunately behind Slotty, who kept approaching him. "Hey! Stay back! Stay back or I'll get Annie to come in here!"_

_"Don't you think she would have heard you by now?"_

_Jason's face paled as he realized why the walls were glowing red now. "Why are you doing this? I didn't do anything to you! I was nice to you, wasn't I? I saved your life!"_

_Slotty's face wavered somewhat. "Mmm, that's true... You showed me mercy back then... N-No-! How dare you distract me!" Slotty pointed the staff and glared at him. "It doesn't matter how nice you were to me; Master gave me an order and I have to carry it out! Now just stay still and it won't hurt as much! Don't you want to see Husky again?"_

_Jason finally pushed him aside and bolted for the door, screaming in terror. "HELP ME! HELP-!"_

_Slotty pointed the staff at Jason and hoisted him up in the air before twisting his neck in one movement. There was a terrible cracking sound before Slotty let the body collapse to the floor. The star tumbled from Jason's outstretched hand and rolled for a bit before coming to a stop._

_Slotty's red eyes gleamed in triumph as he knelt down beside the corpse. "I hope Master is pleased with this..."_

* * *

"Is that enough proof, Seto?" MonoWither asked cruelly as the screens turned off.

Seto felt like his whole world had stopped. "N-No... That has to be fake..." he whispered faintly, tears streaming down his face. "I don't remember any of this happening... I always remember what Slotty does... This doesn't make any sense..."

MonoWither cackled and flew over to him. "How can you still be in denial?! Obviously, you were wrong! It seems like you had less control over Slotty than you thought! And because of your foolishness, another one of your friends is dead! Not only that, but guess who's been the despair spy and a member of the Three Despairs this whole time?"

"... _What_...?"

"Still don't believe us? You really are insufferably stubborn! We guess you'll just have to hear it from the killer himself!"

Before Seto could react, MonoWither opened their mouths and shot at him two small electrodes, much like that of a Taser, electrocuting him. Seto screamed and collapsed to his knees, closing his eyes.

A few moments later, Slotty stood up, removing the hood from his head and grinning. "Hello, everyone!"

The others merely stared at him in shock, and Annie with hatred.

Slotty's smile wavered somewhat. "H-Hey, why are you... why are you looking at me like that?"

"Doesn't matter, Slotty!" MonoWither exclaimed, returning to their throne. "Why don't you tell them why you killed Jason!"

"Oh! You don't know?" Slotty laughed. "I did it to please Master, of course! Master wanted me to kill Jason, so I did! That's all there is to it!"

"H-How  _dare_ you?!" Annie shouted.

Slotty flinched and drew into himself. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"You killed Jason!" Bodil shrieked. "You murdered him!"

"What else was I supposed to do, disobey my master?" Slotty shook his head. "I was just doing what I was ordered to! Don't blame me!"

Bonks suddenly burst into heartbroken tears. "I can't believe I actually felt bad for you!"

Slotty whimpered like a kicked puppy. "Why are you so angry at me? I thought you accepted me!"

"You don't understand?" Tyler asked softly. "You  _killed_ our friend... And you somehow managed to spy on us for MonoWither..."

"Because Master told me to! Why don't you get that?!"

"We've been so nice to you! How could you do this?!" Bodil demanded.

"That doesn't matter!" Slotty glared at all of them, tears streaming down his face. "Why don't you get it?! It's not my fault! I have to please Master no matter what, that's my entire purpose!"

"Who gives a shit about what your master thinks?!" Annie yelled. "They don't give a shit about  _you_ , clearly!"

Slotty's eyes widened and his face paled. "What did you say?!"

"You're going to be executed!" Tyler shouted. "Didn't you realize that?!"

To everyone's surprise, Slotty grinned again as he wiped his eyes. "Upupupu! Of course I did! That was the whole plan! Seto's been a thorn in Master's side for too long, after all, but too bad Seto had no idea I was spying on him since the beginning! Yes, even before this whole show started, I helped Master prepare so much! And Seto had no clue whatsoever! Haha, that's honestly the biggest reason why I blew up that portal! Not only did I want to hurt Seto, but I also couldn't let my beloved master's participants escape and end the show early! Now, by killing Jason, you'll all vote for me, and Seto will be killed too!"

"You're going to die after killing someone who didn't deserve it, and you're just okay with it?!" Bodil cried out, horrified.

"Of course I am! I'm so happy I could carry out Master's plan with perfection!" Slotty clasped his hands together reverently, giggling under his breath as he gazed up at the ceiling. "Oh... To die for my beloved, precious master... That's the best thing a lowly, dirty, no-good servant like me could ever do in reciprocation! My master cares about me and loves me like no one else does... They are the only one who ever forgave me for my countless flaws and accepted me out of the kindness of their heart... Despite the fact that I don't deserve to even be a speck of dirt on their shoulder, they valued me... They gave me a second chance to serve someone... For my master, I'm going to fulfill my duty to the very end! That's what  _love_ is all about!"

"You're  _crazy_..." Annie whispered. "How can you still be happy after all you've done? This is why Jason and the others died? Why all of us are in this hellhole? Just so you could pretend you're actually  _loved_ by the Puppetmaster? You're crazy!"

Slotty lowered his gaze and faced her, tilting his head curiously. "You still don't get it? I pity you all... None of you have any purpose in this world. You're not anyone's master. You're not servants, either. You're just wastes of space, doing nothing useful for anybody." Slotty giggled again, resonating with pure bliss. "Unlike you all, I've been given purpose. I was created to serve my master, and it's true that I didn't do a good job at first, but at least with my new master I've redeemed myself! I've proven my utter loyalty with my sacrifice! They gave me value and love, and in return I've given them my complete devotion and life. I really am sorry you're all so ignorant of how good it feels to serve someone, to give yourself up completely to them... It really is a  _wonderful_ ,  _heavenly_ feeling... a feeling that justifies everything I've done..."

"You're  _wrong_!" Bonks shouted, crying bitter tears. "All you've ever done is hurt innocent people for no good reason! Nothing can ever justify that!"

"Shut up SHUT UP!" Slotty shrieked. "You're the one who's wrong! Pleasing my master is the perfect reason for doing anything! Whatever Master says, I must obey. If Master tells me to believe that 2 plus 2 equals 5, I must. If Master tells me to torture someone, I must. If Master tells me to strip the flesh from my bones, I must. If Master tells me to kill myself, I... I must! Whatever I think or want doesn't matter... all that matters is that Master approves of what I do for them... Master's the only one I love in this world... No one else,  _nothing else_  matters, not even me... In this cruel world full of horrible, wasteful people, Master is the only one worth a damn... None of you could understand!"

"I do," Tyler murmured.

"You- You do?" Slotty asked hopefully.

"I understand your thinking at least... and I think that's what's fucked up about this. You can't even see how you're just being used."

"Of course I'm being used, that's the whole point of my life-"

"No, it's not!" Tyler shouted. "No one should live only for someone else! That's just wrong!"

"Gah! You don't understand, after all! I was  _made_ to do this! My previous master created me for this sole purpose!"

"No one's 'made' to do anything!" Tyler countered. "You're a human being and you should be free to do whatever you like as long as it doesn't hurt anyone!"

Slotty clamped his hands over his ears. "LIAR!" he screamed. "THIS IS WHY YOU'RE ALL USELESS!"

"I don't know what your previous master did to make you believe that so much, but it must have been horrible. Don't you ever feel like you deserve better?"

"The low class like me doesn't deserve better!" Slotty shrieked. "I'm perfectly happy with my given role in this world! All I want to do is please Master! I want nothing else! Besides, I've never felt better than when I was serving Master and earning their satisfaction! Not a second of my life goes by where I don't think, 'I have been blessed a million, gazillion times to meet and befriend my beloved master!' Even though I didn't deserve it, even though I'm so pathetic and flawed, Master was the only one who never hurt me, yelled at me, or got mad at me..."

"So you'd kill an innocent person to please your master?"

"Yes! I've done it many times before and I'd do it again!"

"Even if that person treated you nicely?"

"Yes!"

"Even if it gets you killed?"

Slotty flinched. "Y-Yes!"

"Really?"

"Of course!" Slotty glared at Tyler. "If it pleases my master, I'll let myself die gladly!"

"But you'd think that a master who's pleased with their servant  _wouldn't_ want them dead, right?"

Slotty looked like he had been stabbed in the chest. "Wh-What?"

"I mean... I would  _never_ use a servant... But if I liked what they did for me enough, I wouldn't want them dead..."

Slotty swallowed nervously, shaking his head. "N-No- You're lying!" He whirled to face MonoWither. "M-Master, you're pleased with my service, right? You aren't trying to punish me?!"

MonoWither laughed. "Of course not, Slotty! We're eternally grateful for what you've done! We wish we didn't have to kill you, but there's no way Seto can be killed without taking you with him. Still, we'll never forget what you've done for us! We will never meet another servant like you! You can never be replaced in our hearts, rest assured!"

Slotty smiled shakily. "I- I knew it! Thank you, Master, for your kind words! I deserve this execution just for doubting you!"

"Oh my god, they're obviously lying!" Annie shouted.

"H-Huh?"

"Yeah, there's no way you can trust them!" Bodil stated.

"They'll do whatever it takes to get what they want!" Bonks said angrily. "Even if it means taking advantage of people, manipulating them, and killing them!"

"You can't listen to them, Slotty!" Tyler said. "Please trust us! I'm sure you've seen what they're really capable of!"

Slotty kept looking back and forth between MonoWither and the group. "Wh-Why...? Why do I feel sick?" Slotty whispered, clutching his chest. "It feels like... like my stomach is twisting in knots... Like how I feel when I accidentally disobey Master..."

"Oh Slotty, why would you listen to these useless people over us?" MonoWither asked. "What have they ever done for you?"

"N-Nothing! They've done  _nothing_!" Slotty shouted. "That's right, you're all just trying to trick me! You're- You're tricking me into betraying Master so that stupid Seto can live!"

"We're not tricking you, we promise!" Bodil pleaded.

"Why should I listen to you?! None of you care about me like Master does! Master is the only one in this world who ever cared about me! All I need is Master's love and satisfaction, and I don't care if I killed Jason or spied on you all! This is why none of you understand what real friendship is! After all,  _I'm_  not afraid to die for my beloved friend!"

"Really?" Tyler asked quietly. "You're not afraid at all? Not even a little?"

"I'm- I'm not!" Slotty screamed, tears streaming down his face. His legs quivered where he stood. "I'm not scared- not at all! As long- as long as I have Master's satisfaction- I don't have to be afraid of anything! Master is the reason why got a second chance at life! Without Master, I would have still been trapped in Seto's mind, all by myself! That's why... That's why-!"

He slammed his fists against the podium stand. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU! THIS IS WHAT MASTER ORDERED ME TO DO! MASTER IS MY ONLY FRIEND IN THIS WORLD, AND I'LL OBEY THEM UNTIL THE VERY END!"

The red-eyed boy grabbed the sides of his head and hunched over, crying out, before standing straight again. Seto opened his eyes and stared at the group, drawing into himself. "N-No..." he whispered, his eyes welling up again. "I'm so sorry, everyone... I didn't want this to happen... I didn't mean to let him hurt another person... I didn't mean to let him spy on us... I didn't mean to get Jason killed... I didn't know, I... Oh god, I'm so sorry... This is all my fault..."

Everyone stared back at him, horrified, unsure what to say.

"Let's get this over with!" MonoWither exclaimed. "After all, we've prepared a very special punishment for Seto, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Sorcerer, and Slotty, the Super Duper Minecrafter Level Slaughterer! We're very sorry to see them go!"

_No... This isn't happening... I failed...? MonoWither won...?_

"Yaaahooo! Despair always wins in the end!" MonoWither laughed cruelly before slamming a wooden gavel on the red button.

* * *

**(A/N: Execution music:[youtube.com/watch?v=80S6PUvVvoc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80S6PUvVvoc)** **)**

**SHOW'S OVER: SETO AND SLOTTY HAVE BEEN FOUND GUILTY. TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!**

Tyler stood there, paralyzed, before running over to Seto and reaching his hand out towards him. "Seto!" he shrieked desperately, tears running down his face. "Seto,  _wait_!"

Before Seto could respond, a metal claw emerged behind him, latched around his neck, and pulled him back. He shrieked as he reached his arm out desperately towards Tyler before he was dragged through the dark hallway, his body skidding across the floor. The door slid shut, blocking the courtroom from view.

The claw dragged him for awhile before letting him go. Immediately, four other claws grabbed his wrists and ankles and stretched him out in a spread-eagled position, cuffing them to a hard surface. Seto writhed desperately to no avail as he felt the surface he was on rising up a certain height. A light turned on and Seto stopped as a figure emerged from the shadows, a figure none other than the masked individual who was still donned in their heavy monochrome garments.

"Y-You..." he whispered. "You're the Puppetmaster, aren't you...?"

The person's mask still had its huge grin as the person approached the table and raised a black piece of cloth, reminding Seto of a pall. Seto's eyes widened as he struggled again. "You'll never get away with this!" he shrieked desperately in an attempt to hide his overwhelming terror. However, the figure seemed unfazed. Starting from his feet, the figure draped the cloth over Seto's body and stopped when they reached Seto's neck. Seto breathed deeply, trembling where he was as he stared up at the eternally-grinning mask.

The figure seemed to stare at Seto for a few long moments before reaching out and gently touching his forehead. Seto cringed and shivered as he felt the cool leather of the figure's gloves against his skin, shutting his eyes tightly as he tried not to feel sick. The figure brushed aside the hair on Seto's forehead, tucking away a few stray locks behind Seto's ear. Then the figure brought their hand to their lips and blew a mocking kiss to him before grasping the cloth again. Seto gasped wildly for breath as the cloth was finally draped over his face, blocking everything from his view. The table he was on moved quickly, to where he had no idea...

_I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I-_

Suddenly, the cloth was pulled off of him in a flourish and Seto squinted as multiple spotlights were flashed in his face.

**The Magician's Super Duper Grand Finale**

Seto blinked rapidly before turning his head from side to side, trying to catch his bearings. His table was sitting on a tall platform that was right above the center of a huge, seemingly bottomless pit.

Above him, a horrible whirring sound filled the air. Seto's eyes widened as he saw a long metal pole with a large, razor-sharp, spinning saw blade attached to the end swinging down towards him. The saw blade was painted in a black-and-white hypnotic swirl as it spun wildly, cutting through the air as easily as a knife through butter.

Seto's entire face drained itself of blood. Against his will, his mind brought back the memory of the video he had seen, the horrible and gruesome fate of those members of the Order. He vividly remembered their anguished screams of agony and the way their bodies had contorted in tortured suffering during their final, painful moments. That was going to be him! He was going to meet the same fate!

The pendulum descended at a rapid pace as drums started to pound to the same rhythm as Seto's heartbeat, which felt like it was going to hammer its way out of his ribcage. He couldn't stop looking at the rapidly approaching buzz saw. All of the sounds were deafening, only heightening the anxious tension. Seto's chest started to heave faster and faster, and his pale face turned a dark shade of red before purpling.

This was going to hurt... This was going to hurt so much... He was going to get ripped entirely in half if he couldn't get out of this... Just like those people... And his death wasn't going to be fast and painless for sure...

He thought of the friends he'd left behind in the courtroom. They were definitely watching this right now. They would be forced to see him die in this horrible way and remember it until the end of their days, unless...

Seto struggled to summon his magic, but only managed to emit small purple sparks from his hands. This wasn't good. MonoWither had made sure he had taken whatever magic-repressing potion that dart had. If he could only get these stupid cuffs off...!

Seto strained some more, shutting his eyes tightly as he tried to both pull at the cuffs and summon magic that would break the metal bonds.

 _ **Why are you struggling?**_  a part of his mind asked.  _ **Your existence led to Jason's death. All you've ever done in your life is hurt and kill others. Why don't you just accept your punishment? What have you ever done to deserve to live?**_

Seto ignored those thoughts. They were wrong. He had to escape! If he died right here, none of his friends would be saved! He didn't want to die like this! He didn't deserve to die like this! He wanted to  _live_ , he  _deserved_ to live!

Suddenly, Seto felt a burst of energy flow through him as his purple magic brightened into a brilliant shade of magenta. This magenta aura surrounded him completely as the cuffs started to give way...

The buzz saw was so much closer now, so close that Seto's hair and clothes were blown side-to-side by the wind. Seto continued to squirm on the table and strain at the cuffs, panting heavily from all the energy he was using. He was so close, just a little bit more and he would be free...!

During the last possible moments, Seto shut his eyes tightly, and the cuffs  _shattered_.

Seto rolled off the table, plunging downward into the abyss, all of his consciousness fading rapidly as he fell.

* * *

His whole face emotionless and his mind numb with shock, Tyler collapsed to his knees, his eyes still fixated on the black screen.

No one knew what to say. How could they? After everything they had just witnessed, words failed them.

"Wh-What the- What the hell?!" MonoWither shouted, trembling with anger. "What the hell just happened? How the hell did he have enough magic to escape like that! Those cuffs were magic-proofed! And we shot him with that dart, too!"

"Seto... lived...?" Bodil whispered, barely believing it.

MonoWither laughed. "Oh yeah, about that, he definitely didn't. That's a long, long fall! There's no way he could have survived that! Even if he somehow did, that pit leads to a huge mob grinder! And even if he managed to escape the mob grinder too, like some pesky monsters do, we have ways of taking care of that! So goodbye, Seto! Goodbye, Slotty!"

"So- So he's still dead?" Bonks asked, her eyes wide. "No!"

"Goddamnit..." Annie cursed, looking away. "This is so fucking unfair..."

"Well, that's life. But hey, look on the bright side, at least he didn't get torn apart! We wish we could have seen it, but beggars can't be choosers! After all, his punishment was still served in the end! Plus, you've finally gotten rid of the despair spy, aren't you glad about that? Now there are no more participants on the side of despair in your midst! How do you feel about that, Tyler?"

Tyler didn't respond as he continued to stare at the screen emptily.

"Whatever, anyway, that's the end of the fifth Show Trial! Come on, you know the drill! Everyone back to the elevator!"

Annie, Bodil, and Bonks approached Tyler and knelt down beside him.

"I'm so sorry Tyler, but we have to go," Bonks murmured.

"There's nothing else we can do," Annie said.

"Y-Yeah, at the very least... he didn't get hit by that saw, right?" Bodil asked tentatively.

"He died on his own terms..." Bonks tried to point out.

Tyler showed no signs of having heard them at all.

Annie sighed before grabbing Tyler's shoulders and pulling him up. "Come on, Tyler. Don't make me carry you out of here."

Tyler weakly allowed himself to be guided by the three towards the elevator. The four of them got inside and the doors slid shut. The elevator rose after a few moments.

"...He's not dead..." Tyler whispered, his voice barely audible above the rumbling of the elevator.

The other three looked at each other.

"...Tyler..." Bonks said quietly, trailing off.

"He's not."

Bodil swallowed. "I know it's hard to believe. But trust me, it'll be better if you accept-"

"I'm not in denial. I just know he's not dead."

Annie sighed. "Tyler, I hate to say this because I don't want him to be dead any more than you do, but how could he have survived that? You heard MonoWither..."

"I don't know, I just... know. I can feel it. I can feel it right here..." Tyler curled his hand into a fist and pressed it to his chest.

_"I know Seto's still alive somehow..."_

**PART 05- BLEW DOWN THE DOORS / and boxed us in**

**END**

**STILL ALIVE: 6 - 2 = 4 PARTICIPANTS (?)**

**ITEM GET! You acquired the present "Glittering Star"**

(Didn't choose Option 1? Read what might have happened instead in the previous chapter...)


	57. Nerves of Steel

**PART 06- SO FIGHT THE PAST / take back the night**

* * *

He was falling.

The swinging saw blade quickly shrunk from his sight as he plunged downward into the dark abyss.

_I... I can't die here...!_

He reached his hands out futilely as his descent continued.

_I have to live... no matter what..._

_I... need to live... for everyone's sake! For everyone who's died! For my friends! For... for..._

Still glowing magenta, he mustered up his last remaining strength to magically slow his fall...

_For Annie..._

_For Bodil..._

_For Bonks..._

_For... Tyler..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_For... the one I lo_ _**ve**..._

A blast of magenta consumed Seto's vision as all consciousness and thought went blank, like a candle in his mind had been blown out with a gust of wind.

The next thing Seto knew, he was spluttering for breath as his body landed in a rushing waterway. His fall had been gentle, but the water was as fast as a river as it dragged him away. Seto flailed about as he struggled to keep his head above the water, but even though he could barely keep his eyes open, he could tell he wasn't the only one in the narrow channel. He kept bumping into other things along the way.

His hands still grappling for purchase and his mind unable to process what was happening, Seto suddenly plunged a few feet down into a pool. As he waved his arms and kicked his legs wildly in a mad attempt to stay afloat, he noticed that that the other "things" were actually mobs. He didn't have time to wonder why, though, since the water he was in was rapidly rising to the top of the room. Seto realized with horror that this was some sort of giant mob grinder, and once the water reached the top...

As Seto kicked, he suddenly backed into the glass wall, making him collapse and sink further into the water. Holding his breath, he whirled around and tried to grab onto something,  _anything_ , but the glass was too smooth. Seto was filled with desperation as he smacked his fists against the wall, unable to see whatever was behind it. He couldn't die here! He didn't want to die! He had to live, he had to-

Seto heard something shatter right before he was grabbed by the shoulders and pulled forward out of the water. Seto coughed as he gasped for precious air, dimly aware of the sound of gushing water and shrieking mobs. The sound stopped a few moments later, however.

Whoever was carrying Seto gently adjusted him in their arms to cradle him. Seto's coughs gradually weakened until he could finally breathe properly. He didn't have the strength to open his eyes at the moment, so he feebly rested his head against the person's chest and focused on regulating his breaths. He was alive... He was still alive... somehow...

The person carrying him didn't move an inch, despite how Seto was soaking wet and trembling violently due to the cold. It seemed like his cloak wasn't regulating his temperature anymore because he had used up so much of his magic. As Seto's mind slowly collected itself, he gradually realized that something didn't feel right. The person who was carrying him, why did it feel...

Seto forced himself to open his eyes and raise his head. And when he did, he saw...

_...An... iron golem...?_

Seto was too weak to scream or even flinch. The iron golem just stared down at him, unblinking, wearing a decayed flower crown on its head.

_...That's odd..._

Seto turned his head and saw another iron golem standing there and staring at him, also wearing a decayed flower crown. Seto was a little scared to see them (they could probably kill him in an instant if they wanted), but he guessed that they had broken the glass to get him out of the mob grinder. They were probably nonhostile if that was the case.

Rescued from drowning to death by iron golems... Seto wasn't sure if he was just hallucinating at this point.

Noticing that Seto had stopped coughing, the iron golem carrying him started to lumber away, its strong and heavy feet clunking against the floor with each step.

"Ah- W-Wait-!" Seto choked out in a panic, struggling to break free. The iron golem's embrace was firm, however, and he couldn't force his way out. "Wh-Where are you- Where are you taking me?!"

The iron golem didn't respond as he approached a corner of the room, where there was a white mattress just sitting there. The utility mob bent over and gently laid Seto down on the makeshift bed. The other one quickly draped a wool blanket over the shivering man.

"O-Oh, th-th-thank you..." Seto stuttered out through his chattering teeth, clutching the blanket and curling up into the fetal position. Instinctively, he put his hood back on too. He was so grateful that these were  _friendly_ iron golems. What luck...

...Well, if he really had luck, he wouldn't even be in this circumstance in the first place.

At that moment, the weight of the situation crashed down on him.

Slotty was the spy for despair all along, and he had killed Jason.

Tyler had almost been killed by a masked person and gotten his face carved up as a result.

CODIE was also dead, crushed to bits by the same masked person.

The Puppetmaster had tried to execute him, but he had managed to escape.

Was this really a victory, though? Who knew what the hell the Puppetmaster was planning to do with them now?! What if they had already given them a new motive, what if it was the toxic gas-

Seto struggled to sit up. "How- How do I get out?!" he cried out, breaking into a coughing fit once more. The iron golems lumbered toward him, concerned. "I need to get out of here!"

The one that had carried him quickly pushed him back on the bed and moved the blanket over him, but Seto fought back. "No! I- I need to get back up there! Please!"

The other one hesitated before reaching forward and offering him a red poppy.

"No! You don't understand what I-!" Seto suddenly spotted a door on the other side of the room. He shoved the first one's arm away and tried to stand up, but he couldn't. All he could do was crawl forward to it. "Th-There-!" he said, pointing a shaking finger at it.

Finally getting the message, the first iron golem picked him up again and shuffled over to the door. Seto felt a little embarrassed being carried around and cradled like a baby, but he couldn't object. He couldn't even stand up at the moment; he was that weak. The second one pushed open the door, only to reveal countless flights of stairs. The top seemed so far away...

Seto's face paled a little, but he swallowed. "G... Go on..." he mumbled, pointing up the stairs.

The first one stared down at him but didn't move.

Seto pointed more eagerly. "I need to get up there!"

The golem raised its leg and tried to move forward, but it stopped and just lowered its foot. The second also tried, to no avail. It was like there was an invisible barrier preventing them from going up the stairs. Could they not leave the room? Maybe they were forbidden by whoever made them to get too far away from the mob grinder...

Cold bitterness and disappointment seeped its way into Seto's gut as he lowered his arm. He wasn't getting up those stairs by himself, that was for certain. He needed more strength for that...

The iron golems turned around and took him back to the mattress in the corner. As they did so, Seto observed the rest of the room, which was more massive than he realized. There was the bottom of the mob grinder, of course, and a place where the golems could collect resources and place them in chests. There was also a small lava pool, presumably for disposing of trash.

The golems put him back on the bed and draped the blanket over him. Once again, the second one offered Seto a red poppy.

"Oh... Thank you..." Seto mumbled, shyly accepting the flower.

The iron golems left him there and returned to the mob grinder. Seto absentmindedly rubbed the stem between his fingers, letting the flower twirl back and forth.

 _I thought iron_ _golems only give flowers to their villagers. Do... Do they see me as someone they have to protect?_ _They even broke the mob grinder to get me out._   _It's strange; I've never met them before, but they're taking care of me. Is that regular behavior for them? Then again, I never studied iron golems that much in general._

_Also... Why are they wearing old flower crowns?_

Seto yawned as his eyes began to droop sleepily. He had spent too much of his energy today. He also needed food, but food would have to wait. Right now, he was just too exhausted to do anything. Seto turned to his side, still clutching the flower.

_...What are the others doing? Do they think I'm dead? Will they not try to find me, then?_

Suddenly, Seto felt a gnawing twinge of fear.

_...What if they know I'm still alive, but they won't look for me anyway?_

The more Seto thought about it, the more plausible it felt. He... had allowed Slotty to spy on them and kill Jason. Jason's blood was on his hands. They had all seen that footage.

Seto curled up beneath the blanket as tears sprung to his eyes and his throat went tight. Of course they wouldn't come to save him. Why would they? He was Jason's killer, after all. He was the spy for despair. He had hurt them all so horribly. And now he was all alone...

 _If... If I get back up there... I can save everyone, right...? Would they... forgive me then?_   _Would Jason accept that?_   _Wherever he is?_

_...No, what am I thinking? They'll probably never trust me ever again... Maybe they're glad that I'm down here, far away from them... Maybe this is where they want me to stay, forever..._

Seto choked out a sob as he shut his eyes tightly, crying. His tears streamed down his face onto the mattress below. He covered his mouth with his hand and tried to stifle his sobs, but his whimpers came out louder than he wanted.

They were going to leave him there, he was really alone now, he had lost them all because he was a terrible, unforgivable murderer and-

Seto heard loud thumps as one of the iron golems approached him. It appeared to be the one who gave him the flower. Once again, it held out its arm, but this time it was offering something wrapped in shiny foil.

Seto blinked at the golem, slightly mortified it had heard him cry and actually took the time to attend to him, before wiping his tears and hesitantly taking the object. He unwrapped the foil and saw that it was a piece of chocolate.

"...Thank you..." Seto mumbled, too worn out to be confused. He put the chocolate in his mouth and ate it, taking some comfort in the sweet taste, even though it was so hard that it hurt his teeth to chew.

Seto closed his eyes and tried to relax. They probably wouldn't be happy to see him, but he needed to regain his strength and get back to them. That way, he could do his best to help them escape this place. Even if they never forgave him... Even if they hated him forever... they deserved to survive and escape.

Utterly exhausted by this point, Seto eventually sank into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

The masked person was sitting at a table covered with a row of small, crudely-made rag dolls. They were vaguely designed to resemble the participants. For instance, Seth's was burnt black, Jade's mouth was cut open so it looked like it was bleeding, Sky's had a bunch of needles stabbed through it...

At the very end of the row, Seto's had its midsection sliced apart so wool escaped the gap.

The masked person snatched Seto's doll and clenched it tightly in a fist so that more wool spilled out. Then they grabbed the edges of the cut and spread it further apart, tearing the doll in half.

More wool tumbled from the broken, ripped doll.

Still not done, the masked person crushed and squeezed each half of the doll until all the wool was gone and lying in various heaps all over the remaining unharmed dolls, which were those of the current survivors. Then they carelessly tossed the remains of Seto's doll back where it was in the row.

* * *

Seto was suddenly brought back to consciousness by loud, incoherent yelling and clanging sounds of metal against metal.

Seto's eyes shot open in alarm as he looked and saw... an unbelievable sight.

_...Tyler...?_

Tyler was screaming in terror as he backed away from the iron golems, who were stomping towards him aggressively. He tried to get them to back away by hitting them with a crowbar, but the golems were unfazed as they swung at him with their heavy arms. If they hit Tyler, he would be done for!

Seto gasped in horror and scrambled off the mattress onto the floor. "STOP! STOP!" Seto shrieked desperately, reaching out to them. "DON'T HURT HIM!"

The two iron golems stopped and turned around, confused.

"Seto!" Tyler cried out. He stepped towards him, but the iron golems blocked his way again.

Seto tried to push himself up, but his arms collapsed beneath him. "Stop it!" he yelled again, crawling forward. "I'm telling you to stop!"

The iron golems looked at each other, lowering their arms. In that moment of distraction, Tyler ran past them and knelt down by Seto. "You're alive! You're  _alive_!" Tyler gasped out in delight as he lifted Seto up and hugged him tightly. "I knew you were alive, I knew you couldn't be dead!"

Seto felt his throat tighten up again, preventing him from speaking. He wrapped his arms around Tyler's neck above the backpack he was wearing, praying this wasn't some sort of fantasy. That Tyler was actually here and happy to see him...

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Tyler demanded, gently grasping his shoulders and pushing him away so that he could look at him. "Did- Did those golems- Did they-?"

"No... I'm fine..." Seto whispered quietly as he looked away, his voice trembling. The scars on Tyler's face were still there...

Tyler giggled breathlessly as he cupped Seto's cheek with one hand. "I'm so glad to hear that, you have no idea..."

Seto didn't say anything as he bit his quivering lip and stared down at their laps, trying his best not to cry. Unfortunately, Tyler noticed.

"Um... Seto? Are you okay?" Tyler asked, his smile fading slightly in concern.

Seto felt all the words he wanted to say build up in his throat, but they wouldn't come out. There were just too many. He wasn't even sure which ones he  _should_ say. He was just so confused and happy and scared and grateful and... and...

Tyler stiffened in shock as Seto clung to his jacket like a lifeline and buried his face in his shoulder, bursting into loud, hysterical sobs.

"S-Seto?! What's wrong?!" Tyler asked, looking down at the sorcerer with horror.

Seto merely pressed his face further into Tyler's shoulder to muffle his cries and tightened his needy embrace. To Tyler's further astonishment, Seto was actually shaking like a leaf. He had seen Seto cry before, but never like this. Even still, Tyler didn't hesitate as he hugged Seto again and rubbed his back comfortingly, holding him closer. Tyler's chest ached to see him in such pain.

Everything in Seto's mind screamed at him to stop looking so pathetic and clingy, to pull himself together lest Tyler get annoyed with him, but he couldn't stop. It was like a dam had burst inside of him and all he could do was cry.

"Don't worry, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay, I swear," Tyler mumbled vaguely. He wasn't exactly sure why Seto was crying like this, but he felt like he had to say something.

Seto continued to sob for what seemed like hours before his wails quieted into soft hiccups. His face burned with shame as he refused to move his head away from Tyler's shoulder and let him see how fragile and exposed he was at the moment.

"Seto?" Tyler asked tentatively. "Are you... feeling better?"

Seto didn't respond. All he could do was breathe raggedly and keep holding onto Tyler like he was the one thing keeping him tethered to this earth.

"If you want to... you can tell me what's wrong..." Tyler suggested.

Seto swallowed and licked the salty tears from his lips. "I... I thought..." His shaky voice came out in a hoarse whisper. He cleared his throat weakly and turned his head to the side so his voice was less muffled. "I thought no one would want to come... looking for me..."

Tyler's eyes widened. "What do you mean? You thought everyone would just leave you here?"

Seto's silence answered everything.

Tyler's voice choked up a little. "Oh Seto, of course we wouldn't do that... Everyone else thought you were most likely dead, but they still wanted to find you..."

"B-But I killed Jason..." Seto mumbled. "He... didn't deserve to die..."

"He didn't, but-"

"And I was the spy all along-"

"No, that was Slotty! Not you!" Tyler cried out. "We wouldn't blame you for what he did!"

Seto shook his head. "But I-"

"Didn't do anything wrong!" Tyler finished. "Seto, we know you wouldn't hurt Jason willingly. It's... It's the Puppetmaster's fault. They ordered Slotty to do it."

"Slotty is my responsibility," Seto said in a hollow voice. "Whatever he does is also my fault."

"Aren't you two different people?" Tyler asked. "How is it your fault?"

Seto was about to reply, but Tyler cut him off.

"We wouldn't leave you here anyway, even if it was. If... If the others had escaped their executions somehow, we would have looked for them too, right?"

"...Yeah..."

"There's no way we would have just left you down here, knowing there was a chance you were still alive."

"...I thought I was going to die..." Seto whispered. "I thought that saw was going to kill me... that it was the end... And a part of me wanted to just let it happen... Wouldn't that avenge Jason?"

"Seto, Jason wouldn't have wanted that. You... knew him."

Seto felt his heart start to beat faster at the memory. "I- I didn't know what to do, the saw was c-coming down so fast a-and I was just so...  _so..._ "

He choked up and couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, but Tyler understood. "Yeah. I was scared too," he replied softly. "More scared than ever. But you're safe now." He traced comforting circles along Seto's back. "You're safe now..."

Seto didn't say anything as he sniffled and tightened his grip, relishing this moment. He still prayed it wasn't all just a dream...

They stayed like this for a few minutes, just holding each other in peaceful silence, before a low grumbling sound broke it.

Tyler blinked and looked down. "Um... Seto, what was that?"

Seto's face flared up again in utter embarrassment as he briefly wondered if escaping his execution had been the better choice.

Tyler gasped. "Ah! I forgot! You must be hungry, right?!"

All Seto wanted was to melt into the floor and never be seen again.

"Well why didn't you say so earlier?!" Tyler asked, breaking the embrace and taking off his backpack. "Here, we packed food for you!"

Seto turned his face away from Tyler as he wiped it with his sleeves.

"Drink some water first," Tyler said, giving Seto a water bottle.

Seto took it gratefully and guzzled down the water, only now realizing how parched he felt. As he did, Tyler rummaged through his backpack. "Ah, Bonks insisted I bring hot soup, just in case your cloak didn't work..." he murmured, taking out a thermos jar and setting it down on the floor. "I guess she was right. You look cold."

Seto couldn't help but smile a little. "Yeah, I fell in there..." he murmured, pointing at the mob grinder. "Almost drowned, too."

"Wh-What?!" Tyler exclaimed in horror. "How did you get out?!"

"The iron golems saved me," Seto replied. He noticed that now only one of them was collecting the resources while the other one was watching them like a hawk.

"They did? How come they attacked me on sight?!" Tyler asked, laughing nervously. "I thought I was a goner."

"...I don't know. They were treating  _me_ like an injured kid and taking care of me before you got here," Seto said. "I tried getting them to carry me out of here, but I don't think they can leave this area."

"Huh, that's strange. The part where they took care of you, I mean. Although I'm definitely glad they did."

Tyler opened the jar and pushed it to Seto, who picked it up and savored the warmth of the jar on his cold hands. Seto took a small sip before his eyes widened. "W-Wait, how did you even get down here?!"

Tyler laughed again, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, um... It's a long story?"

Seto raised an eyebrow. "I'm scared now."

"So, uh... I used the hidden passageway, basically. It was Annie's idea. She figured wherever the mob grinder MonoWither mentioned was, it had to be accessible by the Puppetmaster using the passageway. So we all came up with a plan to get to wherever you were and packed all this stuff for you. I think MonoWither got kind of suspicious when Bodil bought a backpack, but other than that they didn't question it. I, um, volunteered to go by myself, because MonoWither would have definitely noticed if everyone was gone. I kept exploring the passageway and making my way down until I finally found this door that led to a long staircase. And I mean  _long._ It took me awhile,but I kept going until got to that door."

Tyler pointed at it for a second before grinning. "And now I'm here!"

Seto cringed. "Is the staircase really that bad?"

"...Yeah, I had to take a few breaks..." Tyler replied.

Seto grimaced as he tried to stand up, but his whole body trembled violently as though it was screaming at him to stop.

"Seto, wait!" Tyler cried out, grasping his shoulders and pushing him back down. "What are you doing?!"

"We- We can't stay here for long," Seto mumbled. "MonoWither will notice you're gone, and then they'll probably find us here and-"

"Well you're not going anywhere in this condition!" Tyler retorted. "You're staying here until more of your strength gets back! And finish your soup!"

Seto huffed before relenting. Tyler was right. If he went now, he'd need Tyler's help for sure. And that would only slow the both of them down.

"Also, we're probably going to have to hide you in someone's bathroom once we get back," Tyler said. "I don't think MonoWither will be happy to see you. They'll probably just try to execute you again, right?"

Seto nodded as he thought about what he would need to do to trick MonoWither into believing he was still dead. As long as he had that as a cover, the Puppetmaster wouldn't catch him by surprise like they did last time...

Seto finally finished his soup and yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Oh, you're tired?" Tyler asked.

Seto frowned as he started to push himself up again. "I'll be fine. Most importantly, we should go-"

"No! You barely got any rest!" Tyler said, forcing Seto back down. "I know why you want to hurry, but you need rest after using so much magic and almost drowning!"

"So what do you want me to do, sleep?!" Seto demanded.

Tyler stared back at him in disbelief. "What else?!"

"...O-Oh..."

"Here, just take a nap for as long as you need," Tyler murmured, guiding Seto to the nearby mattress.

Normally, Seto would have objected. But after all the shit that had happened today, he couldn't help but let himself give in as he meekly laid down and covered himself with the blanket again.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Tyler joked. "Now get some rest for once! I'll sit here and watch, and I'll wake you up if anything happens."

"Okay..." Seto mumbled, his eyes already closing on their own.

As Seto drifted asleep, the last thing he saw was Tyler smiling at him gently, reassuring him that at least in this hell, he wasn't alone...

* * *

**MONOWITHER THEATER**

**Goodbyes are usually hard. But sometimes, they're inevitable. After all, everything comes to an end someday.**

**The word "goodbye" is rather intriguing. You see, we generally associate "goodbye" with sadness (unless you're saying goodbye to someone you hate), but it has the word "good" in it. Interesting, right?**

**Well actually, it turns out that "goodbye" actually comes from "God be with you". So the "good" part really doesn't have much to do with it. But with that in mind...**

**This may be the last time we talk to you like this, but don't fret. We deeply appreciate you for watching our show for so long, the show that we put so much work into. Even though it has to end soon, I'm sure that one day we'll see each other again, and maybe you won't even know it's us. Even if you don't want to... even if you hate our guts for the pain we've inflicted... the characters we've killed... the horrible things we've done... Even if you just want us to die and let the survivors escape...**

**...We will await that day with anticipation.**


	58. Heart for One

Tyler sat on the mattress and observed the iron golems working tirelessly at the mob grinder. A while after Seto had fallen asleep, the one watching Tyler had finally decided to trust him with Seto and gone back to its job.

He wondered why they were so protective of Seto and wary of everyone else. Well, maybe they just had it out for him in particular, but he couldn't remember doing anything to piss them off. All Tyler had done was open the door and enter the room before they had started attacking him. 

He didn't know much about iron golems, admittedly, but he felt like prioritizing Seto like that was unusual behavior for them. (They were even wearing flower crowns! Were iron golems even concerned with physical appearances?) 

However, the absolutely sentimental side of him couldn't help but think, "Who  _wouldn't_ be protective of Seto?"

Tyler blushed at the thought as he glanced back at Seto, who was sleeping peacefully on his side. His lips were slightly parted and his freckled cheek was slightly smushed against the bed. The hood had also slipped off from his head, so now his curly hair was in full view. He looked totally relaxed and free of stress, unlike when he was awake...

When Seto was awake, he always had a sort of heavy, dark aura to him, even when he was happy. Even before this killing game had started, sometimes Tyler would notice that the light in Seto's eyes was dimmed. Even when Seto occasionally burst into uncontrollable fits of hysterical giggling (When was the last time Tyler had heard him laugh like that? He missed that sound...), it was like Seto's smile was restrained. Like he couldn't let himself smile too much. Like he couldn't let himself laugh too hard. Like he wasn't allowed to be  _too_ happy.

Now that Tyler knew better, he knew it was because his past continued to haunt him even to this day. Seto blamed himself so much, for so many things he had been forced to do, it was just unfair.

To think that Tyler had almost lost Seto to the Puppetmaster's execution, after the death of...

Tyler cringed and drew into himself as the horrible, gruesome, and intrusive memory suddenly came to mind.

_That was Slotty, NOT Seto. It wasn't Seto's fault._

_**But... did Seto really not remember what Slotty did?** _

Tyler glanced away from Seto, clenching his fist.

_Of course he couldn't have known. If he had known, he would have definitely said something. Plus, Slotty already said that Seto didn't know he was a spy. It's not a stretch to assume the same applies here!_

_**How do you know that? You've already seen several of your friends lie to protect themselves after killing someone. Even Sky, who you kept believing in during his trial, tried getting everyone else killed so he could escape! Why does Seto deserve your trust? For all you know, he was going to betray you too on purpose!** _

_Stop it! I... I made a promise! I promised Seto that I would trust him, no matter what! This isn't like what happened with Sky!_

_**MonoWither said it themselves, didn't they? Seto and Slotty share memories. There's no way Seto couldn't have known. Face it, he lied for his own benefit! He was going to get everyone else killed for his own sake!** _

_...I won't trust MonoWither over Seto. Not in a million years! Besides, even if Seto did lie, it wasn't his fault! Slotty's the one who killed Jason! Not Seto!_

**_What if you're just in denial again? Why are you hiding from the truth?_ _You shouldn't have made that promise. Haven't you learned to not be so naive by this point-_ **

Tyler shook his head and punched himself in the arm to stop himself from going down that train of thought. He had chosen to believe in Seto. Until he heard from Seto himself that he had wanted to betray them all, he would keep his promise and trust him. Seto had done everything to gain his trust and nothing to lose it. He trusted Seto...

Suddenly, he saw a panel by the wall push open, reminding him almost of a doggy door. To his utter surprise, a grotesque machine stepped inside. It had three heads like MonoWither, but its bottom half consisted of eight thin, sharp legs. The legs reminded Tyler of a spider, but they all stemmed from the center of the machine's bottom in a circle. The three heads all had larger, more prominent fangs than MonoWither.

Tyler tensed up and looked at the iron golems, but they merely glanced at the machine before continuing their work.

The machine scuttled along the floor, its red eyes flaring as the three heads swiveled from side to side, scanning the area. It noticed a sack of unusable resources that the golems had left on the ground.

_**"TRASH DETECTED. DISPOSING NOW."** _

The machine crawled to the bag and bit into it with their jaws, dragging it over to the lava pool before dumping it inside.

The machine continued to move around, scanning. It scanned the iron golems, who still ignored it.

_**"GOLEMS DETECTED. WORKING PROPERLY."** _

Tyler gulped. What would happen if the machine noticed him? He hesitantly rose to his feet, but the sudden motion made the machine turn to face him. Tyler flinched in terror, paralyzed with shock as the machine scanned him.

_**"HARMLESS BEING DETECTED. NO FURTHER ACTION REQUIRED."** _

Tyler sighed in relief as the machine turned away. That had been a close one!

_**"TRASH DETECTED. DISPOSING NOW."** _

Tyler blinked in confusion. What trash? Hadn't the machine already burned it?

To his horror, the machine crawled over to Seto, fangs bared.

"No! Stop it!" Tyler shrieked, grabbing the crowbar and standing in front of the machine.

The machine stopped and hissed up at him, quivering dangerously.

_**"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY. TRASH HAS BEEN DETECTED AND WE MUST DISPOSE OF IT IMMEDIATELY-"** _

Tyler gasped as one of the iron golems picked it up with its long arms and held it in front of it. The machine's legs kicked furiously as it started to thrash about, screeching and hissing in indignation.

The iron golem glanced at its partner, who just stared at it in confusion. Then the golem walked back to the door the machine had entered from and shoved it back inside.

Suddenly, Tyler heard Seto  _scream_ in terror. He whirled around and saw several more of the machines biting onto Seto's cloak and dragging him off the mattress.

He didn't have time to wonder where the hell these machines had come from. All he knew was that they were going to hurt Seto.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!" Tyler screamed, lunging at them with his crowbar. However, something pulled at the back of his jacket and made him fall on his rear. Tyler squealed in terror and elbowed off the machine that had bitten him. However, more quickly replaced it and jumped onto him, pinning him down on his back.

As Tyler struggled to free himself, he could hear the iron golems smacking away the onslaught of machines. He could also hear Seto screaming and begging for help, all while the machines dragging him away chanted,  _ **"TRASH DETECTED. DISPOSING NOW."**  _over and over again.

Tyler yelled as he struck the machines weighing him down with the crowbar and forced his way to his feet. "SETO, HOLD ON!!!" he cried out, swinging wildly at the machines that blocked his path. To his utmost horror, he saw that a bunch of them were dragging Seto to the lava pool.

"STOP! STOP IT, PLEASE! LET GO OF ME!!!" Seto wailed, struggling to free himself to no avail. It seemed that he had no more magic left to use at the moment.

The iron golems were trying to reach Seto as well. They were clearly a force to be reckoned with, as seen by the countless broken machines littering the floor, but the horde didn't relent. Suddenly, a loud crashing sound distracted Tyler as dozens of machines swarmed one of the golems and sent it falling down flat on its back. A few seconds later, the machines scrambled off of it, but the golem didn't get up or move. It just laid there, motionless...

_No way... Is it...?_

The other golem made its way to the lava pool and stomped its feet, almost shaking the ground with each impact. Tyler realized that the golem was holding a bunch of trash sacks.

The machines blocking Tyler's way to Seto suddenly turned around to see the golem.

**_"TRASH DETECTED. DISPOSING NOW._ "**

Tyler gasped in shock as he realized what the golem was doing. "No, wait-!"

All of the machines lunged at the golem and scrambled all over it, biting viciously. However, the golem waited until most of them were on it before it fell back into the lava pool, burning itself and the machines. The machines that didn't die immediately let out horrible shrieks as they tried to leap out of the pool, but they melted too fast for that and sunk into the boiling depths with the iron golem.

Tyler didn't have time to mourn the golem. The path was clear, and this was his chance! Tyler rushed to Seto with a yell and beat up the machines that were dragging him away. He swung the crowbar again and again and kicked them until finally all of the machines were crushed to death and boiling in the lava.

Seto's head was an inch away from the lava pool. He was actually curled in a fetal position and trembling uncontrollably, his terrified whimpers filling the air. His eyes were closed as his hands clutched his hair.

"Seto!" Tyler said, kneeling down and pulling him up by the shoulders so he was sitting. "Seto, it's okay! We stopped them! You're safe now!"

To his shock, Seto was actually  _crying_. Was he that scared?

"S-Seto?" Tyler used his thumb to gently wipe the tears from his face. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Seto shook his head, but he was still crying and whimpering. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry- I'm really really sorry-" he stammered as he pressed his knees further into his chest.

Tyler bit his lip and tried to make his voice calmer. "Come on Seto, look at me. I'm telling you, it's okay! You can open your eyes now..."

Seto shook his head again.

"What? What do you mean by that? Seto, you're scaring me... You can at least look at me, right?" Tyler reached to grasp one of Seto's hands, which was still clutching his head firmly. He had meant for it to be a comforting, reassuring gesture, but...

Seto suddenly flinched and his eyes shot open to reveal that they were red.

Tyler yelped and let go of him, reaching for his crowbar instinctively. "Slotty?!"

Slotty gasped and shut his eyes again before trying to crawl away, but Tyler quickly stopped him by grabbing his shoulders.

"Hey, where are you going?! Stop!" Tyler ordered, forcing Slotty back into a sitting position.

Slotty whimpered again and went still, raising his arms to shield his head as he cowered on the spot.

Tyler stared at him, his eyes going cold as he remembered the footage MonoWither had played. The footage that showed Slotty  _killing_ Jason, his friend, with utter glee...

When Slotty had been confronted about it, he had just laughed in their faces and stood proudly by his decision...

He had killed Jason... and desecrated his body... and held no remorse for it...

Slotty's whimpers got louder as he tensed up even further. Tyler gradually realized that his grip on Slotty's shoulders had tightened painfully. He immediately let go of Slotty, but he kept his hands balled into fists.

"...Why are  _you_  here?"

Slotty flinched at the question, which had come out harsher than Tyler intended. Or maybe it hadn't. He didn't even know how he felt anymore.

"Seto was the one who went to sleep, right? I don't remember him getting electrocuted. So why are you here?"

"I- I don't- I don't kn-know-" Slotty stammered in terror, blocking his head even more with his arms and knees. "M-Maybe it was cuz- cuz Seto used up too much m-m-magic, so- so his soul is r-resting- And when the J-J-Junk MonoWithers attacked, I woke up...."

"And that's why you're here?"

Slotty nodded vigorously, shaking even more. "It's th-th-the truth, I s-swear..."

Tyler went silent, not sure what else to say.

"P-Please don't hurt me, I'm- I'm sorry for killing Jason-"

"No you're not."

Slotty let out a short cry as he winced. "I am, I really am-!"

"Stop lying to me."

Slotty bit his lip, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed nervously.

"Just answer me this. Did Seto know you killed him?"

Slotty stayed silent.

"It's a simple yes-or-no question."

"...N-No... I m-made sure he didn't... Master didn't want him to know..."

"...I see."

Slotty continued to quiver as though any moment would be his last.

Tyler sighed and unclenched his fists. "Stop acting like that. I'm not going to hurt you."

Slotty hesitantly peeked at him from under his crossed arms, his red eyes wide with absolute fear. It reminded Tyler of a cornered animal.

"I wouldn't have anything to gain from hurting you. I... I'm pissed off, but I wouldn't stoop that low and hurt you physically."

Slotty hesitantly lowered his arms and crossed them over his chest, shivering, but he kept his head bowed. "Wh-What do you w-want me to do?" he asked tentatively.

"Why are you asking me that? I'm not your master."

"But- But I don't know what you want me to-"

"Just go back to sleep or something." Tyler sighed as he got up and went to his backpack. "Here, if you're hungry, you can eat-"

Slotty suddenly gasped, making Tyler look back at him.

"Slotty, what-"

 _"POPPY!!!"_ Slotty shrieked, crawling over to the fallen iron golem.

Tyler blinked before following him.

Slotty picked up the golem's head, which had been torn off from its body. Tyler shuddered, realizing why the golem had never gotten up again.

To his surprise, Slotty was staring down at the head and hyperventilating. "N-No-!  _No!!!_ " he screamed hysterically, tears streaming down his face. "Poppy! Poppy, wake up! You- You aren't dead, right?!"

"Slotty?" Tyler whispered, stunned into silence.

Slotty gasped before looking around wildly. "RON!!!"

"R-Ron?!"

"Where's Ron?! Ron!!!" Slotty cried out desperately. "Where are you?!"

"Are you talking about the other one? Because it burned in the..." Tyler glanced at the lava pool, horrified.

Slotty noticed what he was looking at. " _NO!!!_ " he screamed. "Ron- Poppy- You can't both be-! No no no no no!!!" Slotty's words stopped as he clutched Poppy's head to his chest and burst into sobs of anguish.

A lump formed in Tyler's throat as he looked away. He knew that pain... He understood it all too well...

"Why?!" Slotty shrieked, his whole body shaking with emotion. "Why would Master kill you?! Why?! I was the one who disobeyed them! Why did you have to die instead?! Why why why?!"

"They were protecting you," Tyler murmured.

"Wh-What?" Slotty whispered in disbelief.

"They fought to save you. They sacrificed themselves for you."

Slotty stared at Tyler, his eyes wide as he shook his head slowly. "No... Why would they do something like that...?"

Tyler didn't respond. Their behavior towards Seto earlier... Was that because they had thought he was Slotty?

"It- It should have been me. They shouldn't have died because of my mistake. It's all my fault! Everything's my fault! It's my fault that they're- they're-!" Slotty's voice choked up as he clutched Poppy's head tighter, sobbing hysterically again.

Tyler watched him sob for a while, too stunned to do anything. He would have never expected this kind of reaction from Slotty of all people. "...I'm... so sorry, Slotty..." Tyler said quietly, placing a hand on Slotty's shoulder. "I'm sorry you lost your friends. They must have really meant a lot to you."

_**Slotty doesn't deserve your pity. Where's his real remorse for killing Jason? For helping make this killing game that got so many of your friends killed? Maybe now he'll finally understand what it's like to lose somebody important.** _

_...Stop that._

Slotty continued to cry for a minute or so before he finally stopped and swallowed. "They weren't my friends," he whispered hoarsely.

"What do you mean?"

"They weren't my friends. Only Master is my friend. Ron and Poppy... They were just iron golems I liked. Not friends."

"...How were you not friends?"

"Because we just  _weren't_ , okay?!" Slotty snapped. "My heart only has room for one friend to love, and that's Master! That's just how it is! You wouldn't understand!"

"Didn't you care about them?"

"Of course I did!"

"Then what do you even think a friend is?!"

"A friend is someone who you love and support fully! And in return, they love and support you!"

"So how were they not your friends?! They  _died_  for you and you're crying harder than I've ever seen you cry!"

Slotty went silent.

"...You do realize you can have more than one friend, right?" Tyler asked softly.

"I can't make room for more friends," Slotty said in a dangerously low voice. "If I did, I wouldn't be devoting myself 100 percent to Master. I would be giving my love to other less important people. And that's not what a good servant or friend does. Having more friends means giving less love to Master. That's why you and all of your so-called 'friends' don't understand what real friendship is,  _Tyler_."

Tyler stared at Slotty, not sure whether to feel pity or disgust. Disgust at whoever had taught Slotty that ridiculous and manipulative concept, that is. Because if what Slotty and the iron golems had wasn't friendship, what the hell was it?

Slotty wiped his face and stood up, walking over to the lava pool.

"Wait, what are you-" Tyler gasped in shock as Slotty dropped the head into the lava. "Slotty, what-?!"

Slotty glanced back at him, his face splotched red and his eyes swollen with tears. "They don't like being alone," he replied quietly before walking back to the rest of Poppy's body. He bent over and gripped one of the shoulders, grunting with exertion as he tried to drag the heavy metal.

"...Here, I'll help," Tyler muttered, grabbing the other shoulder. Together, they dragged the body over to the lava and pushed it in. The body sank into the magma, quickly disappearing from sight.

After a few moments, Slotty sat down and hugged his knees, staring blankly at the lava as it bubbled up and released hot steam.

Tyler stared at him a bit more, unsure what to do. Just when he thought he finally understood Slotty's thought process... Tyler shook his head and went back to his backpack. He had wanted to save this chocolate bar for Seto, but he knew Slotty probably needed it now.

Tyler offered it to Slotty. "Here. Eat this."

Slotty stared at the chocolate before tentatively taking it and unwrapping it. "...Thank you," he mumbled as he nibbled at the corner, still watching the lava.

Tyler looked around, wondering what else he could do. Chills raced up and down his spine as he saw two flower crowns lying in different spots on the floor as a result of the fight. He walked over and picked up both of them before sitting by Slotty's side.

Slotty tensed up and glanced at him before noticing the crowns. "Wh-? Where did you find these?!" he asked, snatching them from him.

"Um, they must have fallen off during the fight, but they were wearing them when they were alive," Tyler replied.

"They were?!" Slotty asked, shocked. "But I made these for them such a long time ago! I thought that by now, they would have lost them or something..."

"...They must have really cared about them then."

Slotty choked up and held them to his chest, going silent again.

Not knowing what else to do, Tyler fiddled with the crowbar. It was pretty dented, but it didn't seem like Slotty was going to be using magic anytime soon, so it would have to do until they got back and hid Seto from view.

...Wait, but if Slotty was here instead of Seto, then that would be a problem since he might rat them out-

"You should have bought a Taser from the shop," Slotty muttered.

Tyler flinched and stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"I bet you're thinking about how you'd rather have Seto instead of me, huh? Well you should have bought a Taser like Master wanted. Then you wouldn't have to be dealing with me."

"...What makes you think I don't have one right now and I just don't feel like electrocuting you because it sounds super painful?"

Slotty rolled his eyes. "I might not be as smart as Master, but even I can tell that you would have used it the moment I showed up if you had one."

Tyler pressed his lips together. "Sure. If that's what you think."

Slotty stared at the lava again. "You hate my guts. All of your 'friends' do."

Tyler didn't know if telling Slotty that he actually hated his master more would turn out well.

Slotty sighed and hugged his knees closer to his chest. "I know that if it wasn't for Seto, you would have killed me by now with that crowbar and bashed my head in."

"What the- No I wouldn't-!"

"You don't have to lie. I already know. And if that's the case, then... let's make a deal."

Tyler blinked at him. "A deal?"

"First of all, you could  _never_ replace my master. But instead..." Slotty somehow forced a cheery smile at Tyler and held his fists in front of his chest, shaking his elbows back and forth and bobbing excitedly. "...you can be my  _temporary_ master!"

"Wh-WHAT?!" Tyler shrieked in horror, scooting away from him. "Why the hell would I want that?!"

Slotty twiddled his fingers. "Y-You know-! Who  _wouldn't_  want a great servant?! I mean you're a famous rich actor or something so you probably used to have lots of great servants and pretty boys and girls at your feet-"

"No, I didn't!" Tyler yelled back. "And I don't want to be your master in any way!"

Slotty's smile started to crack as he sweated nervously. "Um- Well- Okay, you don't have to be my temporary master if you don't want to but uh- um- How about this? If you want, I can do anything you ask for-"

"That's exactly the same thing! No! I don't want that!" 

Tyler kept inching away from Slotty, but Slotty started to crawl towards him to close the gap, reaching his hand out to him. His twisted grin was positively nightmarish. "No?! But- But maybe you're just saying that because you've never tried it before, trust me when I say I can make it worth your while-"

"And my answer is  _no_! Just stop it already! Go away! Don't get any closer!"

Slotty paused and pointed at his own abdomen. "I- I've been told by my master that my stomach makes a great pillow for sleeping on, do you want to try and consider being my temporary master-"

"No! No! I already said  _no_ , okay?! Why aren't you listening to me?! Just- Just  _shut up_  about this whole servant and master thing for once in your life, I'm so goddamn  _sick of it!!!_ " Tyler screamed. It was only when Slotty shrieked and his eyes widened in terror before he bowed before him that Tyler realized how... aggressive he had just sounded.

"I'm- I'm sorry- I'm sorry I'm sorry- please don't hurt me please please please-" Slotty begged as he trembled violently and practically buried his face into the ground, clutching his hands over his head as a shield.

Tyler felt his stomach twist and his face paled. "Oh shit, I didn't mean to-" He knelt over Slotty and reached over to touch him, but stopped. That would probably make him panic even more. "I- I didn't mean to yell at you like that, I'm sorry. I promise I'm not going to hurt you."

"Y-Y-You're lying!" Slotty stammered out. "You- You're gonna hurt me- You hate me that much- You hate me so much that you wish you could kill me, but you wouldn't do that!"

"I wouldn't, but-"

"You want to keep Seto alive for some reason! But- But Seto would totally understand if you just  _hurt_  me, wouldn't he? So you wouldn't mind hurting me eventually! Soon you're gonna snap because of how much you hate me and you're gonna yell at me and beat me up and kick me until I have bruises all over and- and-"

"That's not true! Stop putting words in my mouth!" Tyler yelled.

Slotty whimpered again and cringed. "I'm sorry!"

Tyler drew in a deep breath. He had to stay calm and keep his voice low. "...For the last time, I'm not going to hurt you. I don't want to hurt you. And even though you did a lot of terrible things, I... don't hate you."

Slotty flinched as Tyler laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I just don't understand, though. If you thought I hated you, why did you want me to be your master so badly?"

"T-Temporary master..."

"...Right."

Slotty didn't say anything.

"Did you think it would get me to supposedly hate you less or something? So that I wouldn't want to hurt you?"

The way Slotty somehow managed to draw himself even further in answered his question.

"Listen, I don't know what it would take to convince you, but... Ah, how should I put this? Your way of thinking isn't normal at all. It's not how the world works. And I don't know exactly who made you like this, probably those people in the Order of the Ender Dragon or whatever, but they were definitely wrong-"

"That's why the world is so miserable," Slotty mumbled. 

Tyler barely heard his muffled voice. "Here, sit up and talk to me. Explain to me what you mean." Tyler pulled at Slotty's arms until he hesitantly sat up. The two of them faced each other, sitting a few inches apart.

Slotty sniffled and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "P-People are awful. They waste money on drugs and other stuff and betray their loved ones for their own benefit. I've seen people sacrifice their own families just to repay their debts. Even their own children. I've seen people kill other people for money. I've seen how bad humanity is. None of that would happen if everyone had a master to serve."

Tyler suddenly realized that Slotty must have only been exposed to the absolutely worst, vile parts of humanity in his short life.

"You really think that would make all the world's problems go away?" Tyler asked.

Slotty's damp eyes brightened. "Yes! Everyone would be so much happier! So happy, they wouldn't feel the need to do horrible things to each other! The masters of the world wouldn't be sad because the servants would do anything to make them happy! And the servants wouldn't be sad because they would be happy pleasing their master and receiving attention and care from them! The world would be filled with  _love_!"

"...Sounds like the servants get the short end of the stick to me."

"N-No they don't! If they feel like they're unhappy, that's their fault for being greedy! Greed! That's it! That's what's wrong with humanity! If everyone was less selfish, the world would be a better place!"

"I agree with you there, but... your solution is just not realistic."

Slotty's face fell. "...Y-Yeah, it's not... There's too many people in the world for that to happen..."

Tyler was slightly surprised that Slotty had admitted that.

"...That's why Master's making this world a better place by getting rid of everyone," he whispered to himself.

Tyler stiffened and Slotty flinched.

"Eek! I didn't say anything! I swear-"

"Relax. Remember what I said about not hurting you. I just want to understand what you're thinking."

Slotty bit his lip and stared down, clearly not that convinced.

"Your master is killing people outside?"

Slotty's eyes darted back and forth like a cornered animal as he leaned away from Tyler slightly.

Tyler sighed. "Are you not allowed to tell me that?"

"Tell you what?"

"N-Never mind. So... you're really loyal to the Puppetmaster, huh?"

Slotty nodded vigorously. "Of course!"

"They're... your friend?"

"My only friend in the world! You could hurt me for saying that and I wouldn't mind because I'm proud of it!"

"...Right, as I have said several times already, I won't hurt you. But can I just ask why?"

"Why what?"

"Why you're so loyal to them. Why they're your friend."

Slotty stared at him suspiciously. "If you're trying to guess who Master is, I won't tell you."

"I'm not. I just want to understand you better." Tyler moved so that he was sitting cross-legged and folded his hands in his lap, hoping it would make him look less intimidating.

Slotty looked pensive but copied Tyler so he was sitting the same way. "The first time I met Master, I hated them," he admitted. "And don't ask me how I met them! I'm not allowed to say that much."

"Okay. Why did you hate them?"

"Because Master hated the Order! They insulted them a lot, and even though Seto killed all my old masters, I couldn't just let Master bad-mouth the Order!"

"So what got you to stop hating your master?"

Slotty's face blushed red as he glanced away. "Th-They... um... were really nice to me..." he stammered in a flustered voice, shyly fidgeting with his hands. "They- They said that I was the one they  _needed_ , th-the  _best_  servant who could help them... They even read through my whole file! Mine! A-And despite my flaws, they thought I was...  _perfect_ for the job..." He sighed at the fond memory, embraced himself, and closed his eyes in bliss. "Ah, Master is like a pretty, pretty angel who came down from heaven! And I was so lucky I got to meet them! It would be so nice if we could somehow be more than..."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. Did Slotty have a crush on his master or something?

Slotty flared up a little as he realized what he had just said and cleared his throat. "Um, I thought Master was just exaggerating. W-Well, they kinda were, but I was stupid and thought they were lying just so I could ignore the fact that they were against my previous masters. But they kept being so nice and... they said that it wasn't my fault that Seto ruined everything... Eventually, I realized that they were really just that nice! They weren't trying to trick me!"

"So then you became their servant."

Slotty grinned and giggled like a little schoolboy. "Yeah! And I'm so glad I made that decision!"

_Knowing MonoWither, I don't know if that was your decision to make..._

"The world would be such a better place if it was filled with nice people like Master..." Slotty mused wistfully. "Even though I made mistakes sometimes, Master was so patient and never yelled at me or hit me... Oh yeah, and one day, Master said that we were friends and we made friendship flower crowns! Can you imagine? Me, a lowly servant, worthy of being Master's friend? Master really is the nicest, kindest person for saying that!"

Tyler bit his lip. It was no surprise why Slotty would grow so attached to someone like the Puppetmaster. Slotty had never experienced a shred of human decency until he had met the Puppetmaster, and they had known that full well. It was disgusting how they had exploited Slotty's desires for positive attention, praise, and companionship...

"Well if your master is so nice, why are they doing something so awful to us?" Tyler asked.

Slotty frowned. "Master is nice, but they have to do cruel things."

"Have to?"

"Lots of cruel things were done to Master in the past. It's only fair that Master gets to do cruel things to the world in return."

"Even to innocent people who never hurt them?"

"Yes! Even them! After all, what happened to Master wasn't fair! Master was innocent! So it cancels out!"

Tyler couldn't help but raise his voice in frustration. "C-Cancels out?! My friends are dying because of this- this person who thinks it's entertaining, and you think that person's nice?! You think they can kill innocent people just because they were hurt in the past?!"

Slotty glared at him. "Your quote-on-quote friends aren't innocent people. Look what they did to each other. They killed their own supposed friends. Real friends don't try to kill each other, no matter what! I would never hurt Master in any way-"

"Well your Master tried to kill  _you_! How the hell do you explain that?!"

Slotty's eyes widened as he flinched. "Sh-SHUT UP!!!" Slotty shrieked, silencing Tyler. "Master- Master had no other choice! I had to die so Seto could die! It's all Seto's fault! Master would have kept me alive if they could!"

"You don't know what you're talking about! Why are you so sure Master didn't have another choice?! That just sounds like a poor excuse to get rid of you!"

"Y-You're the one who doesn't know what he's talking about!" Slotty shouted back. "You have no right to talk about them like that! Master appreciated my work! They wouldn't have gotten rid of me if they had another choice! I was 100 percent loyal to Master! I never willingly disobeyed Master!"

Tyler inhaled deeply. "...Then why did you help Seto escape the execution?"

Slotty's face paled. "What?"

Tyler paused, wondering if he should have said that. Well, he couldn't back out now. "It was Bonks who noticed. Seto's magic is purple. Yours is red. And when Seto escaped the execution, his magic turned... um... magenta. A mix of red and purple."

Slotty looked like he had just seen a ghost. His wide eyes were almost perfect circles.

"...You said that you weren't afraid to die if it was for your master, but it seemed like you were lying at the time," Tyler pointed out.

Slotty's mouth opened and closed before he finally mustered up a low, broken whisper. "No- You're lying-"

"You know I'm not."

Slotty started to shake his head. "No. No no no- You're  _wrong._ It was all Seto's fault.  _He's_ the one who did it.  _He's_ the one who was afraid to die!"

"I don't doubt he was, but-"

"Shut up!" Slotty shrieked, clutching his hair and tugging at it. "You're lying! I didn't disobey Master willingly! I didn't help Seto at all! I didn't do anything! I wasn't s-scared at all! I  _wanted_ that sh-sharp blade to k-kill me, I was waiting for it! I didn't- I didn't undo the unbreaking spell on the cuffs-"

"No one said anything about undoing spells."

Slotty gasped and began hyperventilating. "Y-Yeah, because I didn't do it! I- I didn't go against M-Master, cuz- cuz I'm their loyal servant! I'm not t-trash that needs to be d-disposed!" He suddenly let go of his hair and smacked himself hard in the face. Then he screeched as he scratched that arm with his other hand, digging his nails in and almost drawing blood.

Horrified, Tyler grabbed his arms to stop him. "Slotty, calm down! You're panicking-"

"IT WAS ALL SETO!!!" Slotty shrieked, thrashing his arms wildly in a mad attempt to free himself as tears streamed down his face. "SETO DID IT!!! NOT ME!!! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!!!"

"Shh shh shh, no you didn't," Tyler murmured as he tried to keep his arms apart. "You didn't do anything wrong. What you did was totally understandable-"

"SETO RUINED EVERYTHING! SETO'S THE ONE WHO ALWAYS DISOBEYS ORDERS! JUST LIKE LAST TIME WHEN HE KILLED EVERYONE! HE'S THE ONE WHO DID THAT! I- I WASN'T SCARED TO DIE BACK THEN EITHER! IT WASN'T MY FAULT AT ALL! I DIDN'T TRANSFORM AND KILL MY MASTERS!!!"

"Slotty, it's okay. You just need to breathe deeply."

"I HATE SETO! I HATE SETO!  _I HATE SETO!!!_ " Slotty screamed in-between choked gasps for air.

"I understand why you do. But it's okay. Just focus on breathing completely. Deep breaths, now, deep breaths."

"I... I hate..." Slotty gulped as he slowly stopped fighting. "I... hate..." Slotty's chest heaved as he began to breathe again.

Tyler gently let go of Slotty's arms. "There, that's it. You're doing good. Keep breathing..."

Slotty's wet, glistening eyes were empty now as he stared blankly at the floor, completely worn out.

"...Is there anything you want me to do for you?" Tyler asked, unsure what else to say.

Slotty crossed his arms over his chest and grasped his elbows. "...Go away," he whispered softly.

"I-"

"Just leave me alone."

Tyler paused. "Okay. I will if that's what you want. But if you need anything, tell me," he said as he got up and walked away to sit on a chest by the grinder.

Without responding, Slotty crawled over to the mattress and curled up on his side, staring at the wall.

Tyler glanced away, biting his lip. He'd gotten some answers, but... 

...had he just made things worse?


	59. Bitter Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2018 is coming very very soon (or it may already be here depending on when you read this), so I'd just like to thank you all for sticking with this story and I hope 2018 is great for you all! Btw don't expect any new chapters soon; after this I have to finish Part 06 altogether before I start posting anything.

_There was a frenzied massacre being filmed on-stage._

_Tyler gasped in horror as his friends brutally attacked each other with all sorts of weapons. But they weren't props, they were real! And they were spilling blood everywhere, real crimson blood that ran thick and smelled like copper._

_"Stop! STOP!!!" he cried out from backstage as he desperately ran over, but suddenly somebody grabbed him from behind by the shoulders. With their firm grip, they paralyzed him in an instant. But even though he couldn't move a muscle, he knew he was in the clutches of the masked person, and he was totally powerless..._

No! Let go of me! I have to stop them!

_He couldn't even scream. All Tyler could do was watch silently as one by one, his friends collapsed to the floor in bloody heaps. And for each person that died--for Seth, Jade, Sky, Jerome, Mitch, Ryan, Husky, Ashley, Jordan, Steven, Bart, Dave, and Jason--the masked person carved a deep, agonizing slice in Tyler's face._

_It hurt. It hurt so much. It stung. It felt too warm and too wet. It was suffocating._

_Tyler was crying tears of anguish, but for some reason he started to grin. He didn't even know why he was smiling; he didn't want to smile at all! Why was he smiling?! Everything hurt!_

_And then Tyler started to laugh uncontrollably._

Stop laughing! Stop laughing!

_The rest of the people still alive on the stage turned around to face him._

_"What's wrong with you?!" they all asked, staring at him with disgust. "How can you be happy at a time like this?! You should be ashamed of yourself!"_

_Their scornful questions only made Tyler cry and laugh harder._   _It hurt his chest and gut._

No! You don't understand! I don't want this! How can I be happy?! It hurts too much!

_"Tyler, why aren't you helping us?!" everyone suddenly asked. "Why are you just standing there?! Help us! Something's controlling us, and we're being forced to kill each other!!!"_

_Tyler wanted to respond so badly. He felt like he was screaming at the top of his lungs, but_ _only laughter was coming out._

Yes! I want to help! I want to do something, but I can't move! Can't you see that?!

_"Tyler, help me!"_ _Seto suddenly cried out. "I_ _need your help! Please, do something! Do anything! Just help me!!!" To Tyler's horror, a metal claw emerged behind Seto, latched around his neck, and pulled him back. Seto shrieked as he reached his arm out desperately towards Tyler before he was dragged off the stage and out of sight._

_Tyler heard the deafening sound of a saw blade swinging through the air and spinning wildly and knew that once it got to them, they'd all be torn apart. He had to do something to stop it! But no matter what, even as the sounds got louder and louder, he still couldn't move. They were all going to die!!!_

* * *

Tyler yelled as pain suddenly exploded all over the right side of his body. He woke up with a start and his eyes shot open.

_What- What the hell just-?_

He then realized that he had fallen off the chest he'd been sitting on and hit the ground hard. Had he fallen asleep somehow?

Groaning, Tyler picked himself up from the floor and rubbed his aching limbs. This may or may not leave a bruise on his elbow and shoulder...

That was when he realized that the mattress was empty.

"Seto?! Slotty?!" he cried out as he scanned the room, only to see that he was all alone. His backpack of supplies was gone too.

_No no no no no- Where did they go?!_

Tyler fled the room and opened the door, only to see a familiar figure leaning against the wall and struggling to climb the steps, wearing the backpack.

"Ah! Hey! Wait for me!" Tyler yelled as he ran up the stairs two steps at a time. He couldn't tell whether it was Seto or Slotty, though he guessed that it was the latter since the hood was down.

Slotty glanced back at him with alarm before trying to move even faster. However, Tyler quickly caught up with him.

"Oh geez..." Tyler gasped out as he hunched over, gripping his knees. "I am so out of shape... But at least I caught up with you, huh?"

When he didn't get a response, Tyler glanced up and noticed that Slotty's eyes were closed tightly as he cowered in fear.

"...You're Slotty, right?"

Slotty flinched and glanced at him before wincing. "S-Sorry..." he mumbled.

"Nah, it's fine. It would have been nice if you had woken me up instead of just leaving me there, but that's fine."

"No, that's not what I was..." Slotty shook his head. "Never mind." He gripped the straps of the backpack as he continued slowly wobbling up the stairs.

"Hey, let me carry that," Tyler said, grabbing the backpack and tugging it slightly.

Slotty shrieked and tried to shake him off. "N-No! I can carry it!"

"Slotty, it's way too heavy for you. You don't have the strength right now."

"But I-!"

"No buts. I'm carrying it."

Slotty hesitated before reluctantly taking off the backpack. Tyler put it on with a smile. "See? Isn't that much better?"

Slotty crossed his arms over his chest, looking away from him.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Tyler asked with a sigh.

The boy skittishly glanced at him before taking a deep breath. "I really thought Seto would be back by now... But he's still resting..."

"...Are you worried about him?"

Slotty scoffed. "Of course not. I couldn't care less. I just..." His face fell again. "...Sorry."

"What are you saying sorry for?"

"I- I don't have to tell you! You know why!"

Tyler laughed in confusion. "I really don't."

"Well you should have listened to Master and bought a Taser! Then you could have Seto instead of me!"

"Is that what you're sorry for? The fact that you're still here instead of Seto?"

Slotty yelped like he had been caught red-handed doing something very wrong. "I- I don't know why Seto is taking so long, but he should be back soon-"

"Slotty, relax. I don't mind having you around."

"How can you not mind?!"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't want me to be your temporary servant, you hate my master, you're angry at me because I killed Jason-"

"Maybe those are all true, but please trust me when I say that I don't hate you and I don't plan on hurting you unless you hurt me."

"H-Hurting you can mean lots of different things-"

"Hurting me  _physically_."

Slotty stared at him in utter disbelief before shaking his head. "Master's the only one in this world I trust. Trusting another person would mean my trust in Master would be worthless. So no, I won't trust you."

Tyler bit back his retort of  _"Well your master tried getting you killed for no good reason!!!"_ and instead just sighed again. "It's possible to give 100 percent of your trust to multiple people, you know that? Trust isn't something that can be divided up among others."

"Don't think I'll fall for your  _lies_ ," Slotty muttered. "You just want me to join your side and betray Master, don't you? That's why you're just  _pretending_ to be nice to me."

"What?! Of course not!"

Slotty scoffed as he continued to walk up the stairs again, though he still had to lean against the wall for support.

"Also, where are you going?" Tyler asked, staying by his side.

Slotty tensed up in apprehension but kept moving.

"I guess you just left me there because you were afraid of how I'd react to you when I woke up, but I still don't know where you're going. You know if MonoWither sees you, you'll just be executed again, right?"

Slotty clenched his teeth and turned away. "N-No..."

"What?"

"...I'm sure I can convince Master if I can prove I'm sorry..." Slotty said softly.

Tyler's eyes widened. "Convince your-? No! It's too risky! What if they don't accept your apology?!"

Slotty stopped walking and whirled to face him. "Shut up! I'm Master's friend! I know them better than you do! I- I saved myself because I wanted to keep serving and helping the one I  _love_! Yeah, that's why! They'll understand, I know they're... nice... and forgiving..." Slotty trailed off before his breathing quickened in a matter of seconds and he slowly reached up to grip the sides of his head.

Tyler knew what all of that meant by now. "Slotty, calm down. Let's just talk this through-"

"Wh-What's wrong with me?" Slotty whispered in horror, clutching his hair tighter and trembling. "Why would I take advantage of Master's kindness?"

"Slotty, stop. You're going to panic again-"

"This is why I'm a horrible friend!" Slotty cried out. "I- I disobeyed orders and now I have the nerve to ask for forgiveness?! I have no right!"

"It's not your fault, Slotty," Tyler said hurriedly. "Please, just listen to me-"

"I should- I should die just for even  _thinking_ that!!!" Slotty wailed, slamming the side of his body against the wall forcefully.

"Stop that!" Tyler said, grabbing Slotty and pulling him away from the wall. He hated touching him without his permission when he was panicking, but at the same time, he couldn't just let Slotty keep hurting himself.

Slotty shrieked and struggled for a few moments before suddenly going limp in his arms. "They'll never forgive me at this point..." Slotty whimpered in realization. "They probably hate me so much... I really am just w-worthless trash to them now..."

"Here, let's sit down," Tyler murmured, guiding the unusually-pliant Slotty to the floor. "We can talk this out, can't we?"

"What if they already forgot about me?" Slotty asked softly.

"Forgot about you? Slotty, that's not possible-"

"If they forgot about me, that means... they don't hate me right? So... Maybe it's for the best... I'm such a failure, I'm not worthy enough to be remembered by Master anyway... Master has more important things they have to remember, I probably shouldn't have wasted their memory so much..."

Slotty's wide red eyes were distant and unfocused, and he was clearly talking to no one in particular. It unsettled Tyler.

"Slotty, that's not true," Tyler whispered sympathetically. "You... did everything you could."

Slotty laughed bitterly under his breath, not acknowledging Tyler. "Actually, I was never worthy. Master was just being nice when they said all those things. Now I'm back to having no master. I'm useless again. A total waste of space. I had my second chance and I lost it cuz I'm just that horrible at meeting expectations..."

"Slotty, they basically told you to kill someone and then yourself. That's ridiculous to expect-"

Slotty's voice choked up as tears sprung to his eyes. "All I had to do was just do nothing. Just... nothing. Don't use any magic. Don't move a muscle. Just lie down for a few minutes. And I failed such a  _simple_  task. It was literally just doing  _nothing,_ how could I fail that?"

"No, it wasn't just nothing. You were going to  _die._ Of course your survival instincts kicked in."

Slotty shook his head slightly. "I should have just ignored them. Like a good servant would. For the sake of my master."

"Are you even listening to yourself? You can't ignore survival instincts like they're nothing! That's why they're instincts. It's your body telling you that something is wrong and forcing you to do something about it."

"This isn't even my body, though... Even though it should be... If I was better, the experiment that created me would have been a complete success..."

Tyler mentally cursed himself for not thinking that through. "Well anyone would have done the same thing in your situation."

"But I'm supposed to be the best servant, not just anyone, and Master only deserves the best of the best. Nothing short of perfect. Anything less is just worthless  _trash_." Slotty practically spat out the last word before staring glumly downward. "Well, I guess that's all I am now..."

"You're not trash at all," Tyler insisted. "You're worth more than that."

"Stop saying the same things Master used to say!" Slotty retorted, a tinge of anger in his voice. However, he seemed too defeated to really be angry. "At least I know for sure you're just lying to trick me. You hate me."

"I don't hate you. I actually think you're extremely selfless... to a fault."

_A pretty big fault if you ask me..._

"But a truly selfless person doesn't disobey orders just because they're going to die... People are supposed to sacrifice themselves without a second thought for the ones they love... Master's command is always the top priority, that's the basic rule. And I even screwed that up... because I'm a coward who's afraid of dying of all things... even dying for Master who did everything for me... I'm so s-selfish..." Slotty choked up again and hiked his knees up to his chest, hugging them.

His logic was absolute madness to Tyler, and it also hurt to hear. He knew that it would take a long time to help Slotty realize this, though.

"So what are you going to do now?" Tyler asked.

"I don't know..." Slotty said glumly. "I just... don't care anymore..."

Tyler bit his lip. "Okay, um... You probably know about our plan to hide Seto, right?"

"It won't work," Slotty mumbled. "Master knows I'm still alive. They'll find out where I am soon enough."

"Ah... yeah... Well maybe I could pretend you died somehow-"

"Master wouldn't believe you."

"...Okay... I guess that's off the list, then..." Tyler conceded nervously. "Hmm, what else?"

There was silence for a few moments.

"If... If you really want Master to tolerate Seto being alive..." Slotty began hesitantly before trailing off.

Tyler's eyes widened. "Yeah?"

Slotty paused before continuing. "...If you can convince Master that letting Seto live will be more entertaining for the show, then there's a really small chance they'll let him stay..."

"...You really think it's possible?" Tyler asked, his voice starting to get excited.

Slotty glanced away. "I don't know. It won't be easy. I'm 95 percent sure it won't work."

_More entertaining, huh?_

_..._

_...I could convince them that letting me take Seto's place would spice the show up..._

"But a chance is a chance!" Tyler exclaimed. "In fact, I think I know what could convince them!"

Slotty stared at him. "You sound too sure about yourself. What did you come up with?"

"Oh, um..." Tyler laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "I guess you'll find out eventually!"

"What?"

"We should get going!" Tyler said, standing up and offering his hand. "Come on, we can't stay here all day. I don't have that much food left in my backpack, after all."

Slotty stared at Tyler's hand, trembling a little with fear, before grabbing it and letting Tyler pull him up.

"All right, let's get moving! These stairs aren't easy at all!" Tyler started to walk up the steps while still holding Slotty's hand, but he looked back when Slotty didn't move. "What's wrong?"

"...Did I disobey Master again by telling you that?" Slotty asked in a numb voice.

"Um, no, I don't think so. It's not like you were actively telling me to change their mind. And like you said, it probably won't work right?"

Slotty stared down at his feet with uncertainty before walking up the steps to Tyler's side. His footing was still a little uneven, however, due to how weak his body still was.

"Do you need help?" Tyler asked, gentling his tone so that he didn't offend Slotty.

"...No," Slotty replied quietly.

"Okay then. If you do, just ask. I won't mind either way."

Slotty merely nodded before the two of them walked together up the stairs, an unspoken but mutual understanding between them that could almost be called trust.

* * *

The masked person was wearing one of the old flower crowns from the secret room; the one with yellow dandelions, red poppies, and a large oxeye daisy all woven neatly together. The other one, which had red, white, and orange tulips messily arranged together, was just sitting on the desk. The masked person leaned back in their chair and sipped a can of soda with a straw, watching all the security camera feeds with absolute boredom. There was no movement at all.

Annie, Bonks, and Bodil had gone to the potions room, which had no camera, but the masked person knew what they were planning. Tyler wasn't there, but the masked person knew full well where he was.

No, the masked person wasn't concerned about their scheming. In fact, it was all pretty amusing if you asked them.

The masked person finished their can of soda, slurped a little more, before dumping it in the trash. They sat up, pressing their fingers together under their chin. Now seemed to be a good time, right? Or should they wait a bit more?

...Nah, just start the fun now. This time skip is just boring the audience anyway. They want to get back to Seto and Tyler like the shippers they are!

The mask's grin shone in the glaring light as the figure pressed a few buttons on the control panel before them.

* * *

The two of them had taken many breaks at Tyler's insistence. Slotty had eventually needed to lean on Tyler's shoulder for support, much to the former's embarrassment. However, they had made great progress in the past hour or so. In fact, they were near the top now.

"We're almost there!" Tyler said, trying to hide his nervousness.

Slotty suddenly stopped and Tyler had to stop as well.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Slotty's face was pale in fear as his eyes darted around. "Um- Um-"

"Slotty, I know you're scared. But you have to face your master someday-"

"D-Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Tyler went silent as he strained to listen. Very faintly, he could hear something... tapping.

"Something's coming!" Slotty hissed, rushing behind Tyler and clinging to his shoulders.

Tyler pulled out the crowbar, but as the sound got closer, he realized that it was actually coming from behind them...

Slotty realized the same thing and pushed Tyler forward. "Agh! Run!"

Tyler grabbed Slotty's hand and pulled him up the stairs, rushing to the top. The top of the stairs had a large, empty area before two wide doors that led to the hidden passageway. They rushed to the doors, but to their horror, they were locked.

"Why won't they open?!" Tyler shrieked as he kicked the doors to no avail. He could only push them back slightly, but Tyler could see through the crack that there was a latch keeping them shut on the other side. He tried to fit the crowbar between the doors to push the latch up, but it wouldn't fit.

Slotty whimpered as he rose his hands in front of him, trying desperately to summon some magic, but nothing happened. Meanwhile, the noises got louder and louder.

"Slotty, get behind me!" Tyler yelled, grabbing Slotty and pulling him back.

A few seconds later, a giant swarm of Junk MonoWithers reached the top of the stairs and stood there, hissing and baring their fangs.

Tyler clenched his jaw and held the crowbar in front of himself defensively, but the Junk MonoWithers stayed near the stairs for some reason and didn't approach further.

"I'm sorry!" Slotty cried out, clutching Tyler's left arm and burying his face in his shoulder.

_"Sorry, huh?"_

Tyler gasped and Slotty cringed at the familiar voice. They heard something open the latch and pull open the doors. The two whirled around to see MonoWither hovering in the hallway above another swarm of Junk MonoWithers. But behind that swarm were three people they recognized...

"Tyler!!!" Annie, Bodil, and Bonks shouted in horror, lowering their weapons slightly.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Tyler asked, shocked.

Instead of replying, Annie noticed Slotty cowering behind him and gasped before raising her bow again. Bodil and Bonks followed her line of vision and raised their swords.

Slotty whimpered and grabbed Tyler's arm again.

"Oh, there you are, Tyler! We were wondering where you ran off to! Your friends were so worried, they tried to form a rescue party!" MonoWither said.

Tyler and the other three locked eyes. Since they were separated by the swarm, there was no way they could reach each other, and attacking that many machines at once would be a suicide mission.

"And we see you have with you..." MonoWither shifted their gaze to Slotty and frowned. "Huh? Who the hell are you?"

Slotty's eyes widened in shock before he bowed his head. "Oh... So you did forget about me..." he mumbled.

MonoWither cackled. "Pfft! As if, Slotty! We were just joking around! How could we ever forget our  _dearest friend_!"

Slotty looked up in disbelief. "D-Dearest friend?"

"Yeah, aren't we still friends?"

"Of- Of course we are!" Slotty stammered frantically. "Sorry, I just wasn't sure-"

"No, you aren't!" Tyler yelled without thinking.

"Tyler!" Slotty said, horrified.

Tyler glared at MonoWither. "You have no right to call yourself his friend after everything you did to him."

MonoWither went silent.

"Shut up!" Slotty shrieked. "M-Master, don't listen to him! I swear, we're still friends-"

 _"_ _WAAAHHH_ _!!!"_ MonoWither suddenly wailed like a baby, closing their eyes and throwing their heads back. "T-Tyler's right! We were so horrible to you! How could we ever think of killing you?! You were our best friend and did everything for us and we repaid you with something so awful! We're so, so sorry! We're the worst friends in the world!"

Slotty looked like his world had crashed down before him. "No! Master, please don't cry! None of that is true! You just wanted to get rid of Seto because he was spying too much! It's not your fault, please don't be sad!"

MonoWither shook their heads, sniffling. "Oh Slotty, you're too kind. But Tyler is right. We have no right to call ourselves your friend. You deserve better than this. We can never make up for what we've done. We were so hypocritical, blaming the participants for killing their own friends when we tried to do the same thing..."

Tyler was stunned. They had just taken his words and thrown them back in the worst way possible! He had no idea what else he could say without MonoWither further manipulating Slotty.

Slotty shook his head. "It's not your fault at all, but I promise I forgive you! Just don't blame yourself anymore!"

"We don't deserve your forgiveness," MonoWither replied glumly. "Even after we realized our mistake, we tried to kill you again just so we wouldn't have to face you. Go on, be Tyler's friend now. He's probably a better friend for you. He probably treated you better than we ever did..."

"No! Master, please stop! There's no one else I'd rather have as a friend than you!" Slotty was actually crying now. "You- You made me so much happier! You gave me a reason to live again! You treated me better than anyone else in this world, so I'm the one who should be sorry! I disobeyed you and tried to escape the execution!"

Bonks gasped, surprised her theory had been right.

"But anyone would have done that," MonoWither replied. "That's not your fault. Your natural instincts took over. Meanwhile, we were just being cowards... We were so afraid of that mean Seto, we sacrificed you just so he couldn't hurt us..."

"Master, please just let me take the blame!" Slotty begged. "I was the real coward! You shouldn't have to insult yourself like this!"

"But... But we can't fix this!" MonoWither shrieked. "You're the blackened, and the rules say you have to be executed! What have we done?! We can't break our own rules; the audience would call us hypocrites!"

"Who cares about your rules anyway?!" Bodil cried out before squeaking in terror when MonoWither whirled to face him.

"You don't understand! Without the rules, the show would lose its meaning! But now, my own rules are forcing me to execute my friend!"

"N-No they're not!" Bonks shouted. "You're just using the rules as an excuse to get Seto killed!"

Slotty bit his lip, whimpering a little. "I- I'm sorry, Master- I ruined the execution because I wanted to keep helping you, and I was also a coward too afraid to die, but in the end I just hurt you even more..." He collapsed to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground, bowing in front of MonoWither. "I won't run away anymore! I... I accept this punishment!"

"Slotty, no!" Tyler shrieked, kneeling beside him and trying to pull him up. "You can't do this! Please, listen to me-"

"You really accept it?" MonoWither asked, tilting their heads. Their voice was sad, but Slotty couldn't see their sadistic grins above him.

"Yes, yes I do! A-Anything for you, Master!"

"Slotty, they're lying!" Annie snapped. "They're not sorry at all!"

"She's right!" Tyler said. "They  _want you_ to accept this! They want you to die without resisting!"

"So what?!" Slotty snapped back tearfully. "I can't disobey Master again! If this is what Master wants, I have no right to question it!"

"If they were really sorry, they'd change the rules to let you live! Wouldn't they? I'm sure that's in their control," Tyler said, glaring at MonoWither.

"...Control?" MonoWither echoed.

"I don't trust you guys at all! You don't care if I live or not!" Slotty countered. "You just want Seto to live! That's the only reason why you're defending me! Well, I see through your lies! I've known Master longer than I've known you, and I know Master is honest and kind! That's why I'll gladly die for Master!"

"...That won't be necessary," MonoWither suddenly said.

"Huh?" Slotty asked, daring to look up.

"Hmm, we were looking back at the official Show Rules, and we noticed something interesting. Somehow, we completely forgot to put all of the rules of the show trial in them! Yes, all of them, including the rule about how the blackened will be executed if they are voted as the culprit!"

"What, are you serious?!" Bodil shrieked.

"Yeah! Don't believe us? Just check your e-Handbooks! We never put any of the rules about the trials in there! So that means... they aren't  _official_  rules, huh?"

"So that means you don't have to execute him!" Bonks declared.

"Exactly! So relax, Slotty, you're spared!"

Slotty pushed himself up so that he was kneeling, his eyes full of disbelief and hope. "I am?! I can live?!"

"Well... Only on one condition."

Everyone's relief vanished with that one statement.

"M-Master?" Slotty asked hesitantly.

"What kind of show would this be if no one died at the end of a murder trial? We can't allow that, no matter what! That would disappoint the audience!" MonoWither shouted. "So Slotty, would you please do us a favor?"

"Y-Yes! Anything you wish for!" Slotty beamed.

MonoWither's red eyes shone dangerously.

_**"Kill Tyler."** _

Tyler jerked to his feet and backed away from Slotty, holding his hands out. "Slotty, we can talk about this-"

"...Okay, Master," Slotty replied softly, a shadow crossing his face as he pulled out the yin-and-yang dagger from his pocket and stood up.

"Slotty, no!" Bodil shrieked in horror. "Don't do it, please!"

"He  _won't_ ," Annie hissed as she raised her bow, nocked the arrow, and drew it to aim at Slotty. "Drop your knife or I'll kill you! I'm not joking around!"

"Stop! You'll kill Seto if you do that!" Bonks cried out.

The SDML Archer's aim wavered for a moment before she gritted her teeth. "Seto would understand. He wouldn't want Tyler to die either, and I'm not taking any more chances."

"But you'll probably get executed yourself!" Bodil said, horrified.

"Yeah, MonoWither will just execute you!" Bonks said.

"And if that's what it takes to protect everyone from Slotty, I'll do it!" Annie snapped back. "Slotty, I'll kill you the moment you use that knife!"

Slotty ignored them as he approached Tyler, who continued to back away until he hit the wall.

"Slotty, calm down. You don't have to listen to MonoWither," Tyler murmured, his hands trembling as he lowered them to his thighs.

"Shut up!" Slotty yelled, readjusting the knife so that it was in a stabbing position. "This is for Master! For my friend, who I love! I can't fail them again! It doesn't matter if you were nice to me or not. I'll kill you in an instant! Just like I did with Jason!"

"...I didn't want to do this," Tyler said in reply as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a Taser.

Slotty's eyes widened in shock. "...You had one all along?"

"Of course I did."

"But then... why didn't you use it earlier?"

"I said it already, didn't I? You didn't hurt me, so I didn't want to hurt you."

"But didn't you hate me? Why wouldn't you use the Taser the moment you saw me? Then you could have had Seto! I don't get it! Why would you want to deal with someone you hate if you had another choice?!"

"Remember what I said? I don't hate you. Even after everything you did, I don't hate you."

Slotty stared at the Taser, unable to say a word.

Tyler gave him a sad, sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Slotty. You can blame me for this one." Without giving Slotty a chance to respond, he aimed and fired the gun.

Slotty cried out, his muscles seizing up as the electrical darts struck him, before he dropped the dagger and collapsed to the floor.

Tyler rushed over to the unconscious boy and checked his pulse, sighing in relief when he felt it. But his problems weren't over yet...

"Ah! So that's how it ended!" MonoWither said with a cackle. "Gosh Slotty, for all your boasts and claims, you sure hesitated to kill Tyler! But we weren't surprised at all! Unfortunately, this is also pretty bad. Someone needs to take the fall! Come on, any volunteers?"

"N-No one needs to take the fall!" Bonks stammered.

"Yeah! Can't we just agree to drop this whole thing?!" Bodil asked.

"Of course not! But at least we're giving you a choice to get rid of whoever you hate the most! So come on, someone better make a suggestion or we'll execute everyone!"

Everyone looked around, terrified.

Tyler paused for a moment, staring down at Seto. He was asleep, so he looked relaxed again. Relaxed and peaceful... Before Tyler knew it, he was thinking about the good times he had had with his friends, the friends he had never expected he would lose so horribly. He longed for those good times, but they were over. Fate had cruelly wrenched them away from Tyler's life and sent him plunging into a downward spiral. But even still, despite all the despair... he thought of everyone's smiles. Everyone's smiles, including the smiles of those he would never see again...

Without really thinking about it, he leaned over and embraced Seto, feeling his steady heartbeat.

 _...I'm sorry, Seto, but I made my decision already. You can save the others and get them out of here, okay? I know you can do it._   _Don't blame yourself for this. I... I needed to do something for everyone eventually..._

"...Fine. I'll do it," Annie murmured.

"No!" Bodil shrieked, grabbing her shoulder.

"Annie, you can't!" Bonks pleaded.

"No, I'll be the volunteer," Tyler said, letting go of Seto and standing up.

 _"Tyler!!!"_  everyone cried out.

Behind him, Tyler could barely hear Seto mumble, "Tyler...?"

Tyler smiled tearfully, the fond memories of his friends welling up inside of him. "...The funny thing is, I figured I'd have to take Seto's place eventually. So I was already prepared for it."

"N-No!" Annie shouted. "Jason was my responsibility, so I should-"

"I've already made my decision. MonoWither, get it over with."

"Roger that!" MonoWither replied gleefully.

Bonks let out an awful wail and Bodil and Annie just stared at him, paralyzed with shock.

"...Tyler...?" Seto murmured, shifting slightly as he rose to consciousness. "What's... happening...?"

Tyler's heart dropped. If Seto found out what was going on, he would-

"Oh Seto, you're just in time for Tyler's dramatic sacrifice!" MonoWither declared.

Seto gasped as he jerked awake. "What?"

Tyler shut his eyes tightly. "MonoWither, just do it now!"

"Wait- No no no- What's going on?! Tyler?!" Seto stammered frantically. Tyler heard him trying to get up, but he was still too weak.

"Aww, Seto, it's too late! Tyler already volunteered, so you have front-row seats to his execution! But don't worry, he's doing it all for you! Your sin will be forgiven after he takes the fall!"

"No!" Seto cried out in anguish. "Tyler, you can't do this! I killed Jason, I should be the one-"

"Ohhh, but this will definitely spice things up!" MonoWither gloated. "What a brutal plot twist! How will Seto, the flawed and broken protagonist, carry on after his romantic interest sacrifices himself for his sake? There's no way we're passing up a chance to give this show more entertainment!"

"Entertainment, entertainment! It's always about your personal entertainment! More entertainment for your damn show! That's all you want, right?!" Seto shouted. Tyler actually flinched at the sharp anger in his voice.

"Hmm, other than total world domination, yeah pretty much!" MonoWither admitted.

"Well if that's the case, I have an even better idea," Seto said.

Tyler felt his whole body tense up.  _Seto, what are you doing?_

"Oh? Do tell?"

"...The best part of a mystery story is the big reveal, right? The ending where everything comes together for the explanation! That's the best conclusion, right?!"

"Yeah, that's true! So what?"

"Since you agree, I have a proposal. A challenge, actually. We should have one last trial where we-"

"You mean, a thrilling and climactic challenge for you to solve all the mysteries of this place, right?!" MonoWither asked excitedly. "A final showdown between the current survivors and the Puppetmaster that will end depending on if the survivors manage to uncover our identity?!"

Seto stared at them with wide eyes, stunned.

"Why do you sound like that's what you wanted this whole time?!" Annie demanded.

"That's a brilliant idea, Seto! Way better than going the angst route! Yes, yes! This is perfect! We accept your suggestion! Guess you're spared for now, Tyler!"

Tyler released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Hold on. A challenge needs rules, right?" Seto asked. "We need to decide what happens to the winners and the losers. Otherwise, you could make anything up."

"Yeah, definitely! So... Here's what we're thinking! If you guys solve all the mysteries, you win and we lose! But if you make too many mistakes, we win and you lose! If you win, you all get to leave! But if you don't, well... that leads to our next point! For the unfortunate souls on the losing side, whoever that may be, we think it would be fitting to have one last execution!"

"E-Execution?!" Bodil shrieked.

"What, it's the final trial! Either all of you die or we die! Unless, of course, you don't want a final trial and want Tyler or Seto to get executed. Then you could just choose to disagree with Seto's challenge, and we'll execute one of them!"

"I- I don't want them to  _die_! I just..." Bodil trailed off, his face going pale.

"...We could all die if we agree to this..." Bonks said softly. "But at the same time, this is probably the only chance we have to survive together, right? If that's the case, then... I can accept it."

"I agree," Annie muttered. "After all, I swore I'd kill the Puppetmaster. This is my way of fulfilling this promise. Even if I have to risk my life, I will do everything I can to avenge everyone's deaths."

Bodil didn't say a word as he glanced down at the floor. "...Ashley didn't want to die either, but... I feel like she would still agree to do this... Living here forever isn't really survival, is it?"

"Everyone, you all..." Seto trailed off, stunned.

Tyler couldn't help but feel proud of all of them. Finally, the five of them were all united against the  _true_ enemy!

"So you all agree! That's wonderful! We're so thrilled to see you all working together! However..." MonoWither suddenly grinned. "We think this challenge should be more fair. Therefore, we're giving you a hint."

"A hint?" Seto said skeptically.

"Yep! Here it is!" MonoWither cleared their throats. "So as you all know, this show started with 16 participants. But excluding Slotty and the Hope Organization members of course, the only people who have entered this building since the killing game started are those 16 participants!"

There was a long pause. Seto's breath hitched as he suddenly realized what they were implying...

"Uh... Okay then...?" Tyler asked, laughing a little.

"What kind of hint was that?!" Annie snapped.

Bonks shook her head. "MonoWither's just messing with us."

"Yeah, they would never give us a real hint," Bodil admitted.

"How rude!" MonoWither shouted. "We were so generous and you dare accuse our hint of being fake?! Fine! We're leaving! You guys can figure out the rest yourselves!"

MonoWither flew away and Tyler whirled around to help Seto stand up. At the same time, all of the Junk MonoWithers scuttled down the steps until they were out of sight.

"Seto!" Annie, Bonks, and Bodil yelled as they ran over to him. The latter two dropped their weapons in the process.

Seto's eyes widened and he had no time to react before Bonks suddenly hugged him tightly, almost knocking him back. "I'm so, so glad you're alive!" she cried out. "You have no idea how worried I was!"

"Really?" Seto asked in a faint, shocked voice.

Tyler, who was still holding one of Seto's hands, couldn't help but laugh. "I told you they were worried! And you didn't believe me!"

"I'm so sorry for voting for you!" Bodil wailed, grabbing Seto's shoulder and burying his face in it. "I didn't want you to get executed, I just didn't know what else to do! Please forgive me!"

"Of- Of course I forgive you... Calm down..." Seto said dazedly, looking back and forth between Bonks, Tyler, and Bodil. The confused, bewildered expression on his face made Tyler laugh again.

Still wearing her bow and quiver, Annie stood a few feet away from them with her arms crossed, unable to meet Seto's eyes.  Seto noticed this and his face fell.

Annie glanced at him before looking away again. "I'm glad you're okay," she mumbled finally.

"We all are!" Bonks yelled tearfully.

"I'm so sorry for voting for you!" Bodil repeated.

Seto was stunned into silence. "You guys..." 

Annie sighed. "...I won't apologize for voting for you, but... I blame Slotty and MonoWither, not you. You were just trying to live."

"Actually, Slotty confirmed that Seto didn't know what happened!" Tyler said almost proudly.

Annie's eyes widened. "He did?"

"...Slotty?" Seto asked, confused.

"Yeah, I asked him if you remembered and he said he made sure you didn't-"

"Wh-When did you get the chance to talk to Slotty? I don't remember him showing up at all..."

Bonks and Bodil actually let go of Seto as they all stared at him in shock.

"You don't remember anything?!" Bonks asked.

"No?"

Bodil gasped. "Not even when Slotty almost k-?!" Tyler's quick warning glance stopped him.

"No, I just remember Tyler finding me and then I went to sleep by the mob grinder. The next thing I knew, I was here on the floor and MonoWither was going to execute Tyler..."

Annie covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes widening in horror. "S-So, when you said you didn't know anything, you were... telling the truth?"

"Of course I was! I..." Seto looked at Tyler, his face pale. "What's going on? What's everyone talking about?"

Tyler laughed nervously. "Um, after you went to sleep, MonoWither sent these machines to kill you. The golems and I managed to rescue you, but they got destroyed in the process. When I went to you, it turned out Slotty was there instead. Slotty said that it might have been because you were so weak from using up all that magic. Eventually, we got all the way up here but then MonoWither stopped us. And I guess that's all you missed."

"Do you really not remember?!" Annie demanded.

Seto swallowed nervously before shaking his head slowly.

_"...I don't remember Slotty doing any of that..."_


End file.
